


Going Bush 2: Suburbia

by torturingtaylor (itzaimster)



Series: Going Bush [2]
Category: Hanson
Genre: Bondage, Gen, Hostage Situation, Human Trafficking, Slave Trade, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-13
Updated: 2013-01-12
Packaged: 2017-11-25 07:09:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 140
Words: 78,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/636392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itzaimster/pseuds/torturingtaylor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eight years after the initial abduction, the Hanson brothers are getting on with their lives. Taylor and Zac are on their way to a friend's party when they stop in at a butcher to pick up some supplies for the night. Things are going well until Taylor and the butcher's assistant catch each other's eye. It's Nate.</p><p>In order to keep his new identity a secret, Nate abducts both Taylor and Zac and rather than having them killed he enters them into a 'program' run by some associates of his - a program designed to train the perfect human slave.</p><p>Once again Isaac is left to the chase, this time with the help of some friends they made in the aftermath of the 2004 abduction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 01

“Maybe we shouldn’t have left it to the last minute,” Zac smirked.  
“I’ll make a note of that, shall I?” Taylor gave him a condescending look from the driver’s seat.  
“Where are we even going to find a butcher still open at this time of night, in this part of town?”  
“I’m working with… fate,” Taylor shrugged.  
“Fate?”  
“That works.”  
“Whatever,” Zac kept his eye out the window, looking for any kind of store they could use, “Frankie’s going to be pissed if we don’t turn up with something at least.”  
“We’ll get it,” Taylor assured, “look up there. That looks open.”  
Zac spied the small corner store with lights still on and a stocky man sweeping the floors inside.  
“If we hurry maybe,” he said, taking his seatbelt off and getting ready to open the door.  
“Go for it,” Taylor insisted, pulling up at the curb.  
Zac’s door was open in an instant and he rushed over to the door as Taylor parked the car properly. The man inside heard his footsteps and looked up, already shaking his head.  
“Please! We really need something for tonight!” Zac begged at the door.  
“Unless you take end of day cuts, no meat!”  
“Anything,” Zac insisted, barely making out the words from the thick Italian accent.  
“Then quickly, come see,” the man beckoned him inside, “but you rush. I go home.”  
“Thank you! Thank you,” Zac said sincerely as he stepped inside the store.  
The man indicated the last rack that his assistant hadn’t cleared, and Zac made his way over.  
“Nikolai! You help customer, si? I go home to Cecilia. Her mother demanding,” the man called to his assistant as he quickly wiped down the counter top.  
“No problem,” came the response from out back.  
“Nikolai help you. Good evening,” he nodded to Zac.  
“Thanks,” Zac returned the nod, before spotting Nikolai.  
He offered him a smile, before his eyes narrowed slightly. The guy looked vaguely familiar, but he was having one of those can’t-quite-put-my-finger-on-it moments. He opted to leave it and went back to looking over the small selection.  
“What can I help you with?” the much younger, leaner man came over wiping his hands.  
“You know, this is really my brother’s forte. He’s going to be the one cooking it,” Zac shrugged, “he was just parking the car, so he should be-“  
Zac cut off as the door chimed, signalling Taylor’s entry.  
“Hurry up Tay, they need to close,” Zac waved him over.  
Taylor came over to him and looked over what was available.  
“We might as well take everything,” he shook his head, before moving his sunglasses onto his head.  
“Ah… sure,” Zac had hesitated, “as long as you’re paying.”  
Taylor fished in his pocket for his wallet, before looking up at Nikolai for the first time. His face immediately lost colour when they locked eyes.  
“What?” Zac asked when he noticed something was up.  
Taylor suddenly grabbed his arm.  
“Zac we have to get out of here,” he barely breathed, before turning to bolt for the door with his grip still on Zac’s arm.  
He froze when he saw that the store’s burglar screens had been activated, locking them in.


	2. 02

“Long time no see, Taylor. What has it been… eight years at least?”  
Taylor closed his eyes with a gulp, before turning back to face him.  
“Who are you?” Zac just looked confused.  
“Of course you wouldn’t remember me, Zac. I was probably a little hard to see through the blood spatter…”  
“It’s Nate,” Taylor breathed, letting go of Zac’s arm finally, “what do you want?”  
“I seem to be in a bind,” Nate shrugged innocently, “here I am, getting on with my new life, and then you guys walk in. The only guys who could possibly identify me as one of our original little rat pack…”  
Zac turned his head as if to check that they definitely couldn’t get through the door, before his hand went to his jean pocket where his phone sat.  
“I wouldn’t do that,” Nate stepped to the side a little and picked up a meat cleaver, before pointing it in Taylor’s direction, “and you know I know how to use these.”  
Zac fought with himself for a moment, before Nate indicated the counter.  
“Phones. And wallets. Now.”  
The pause had given Nate time to acquire a second knife and begin to make his way around the counter, so Taylor decided quickly and stepped forward to put his belongings where indicated. He raised his hands in a sign of surrender before stepping back as Zac just gave him a questioning look.  
“I’m waiting,” Nate’s eyes narrowed in his direction.  
“Do it Zac,” Taylor said over his shoulder.  
Not without an audible groan, Zac stepped forward and dropped his things onto the counter.  
“So what’s the plan?” Taylor asked with surprisingly calm manner, “are you planning to kill us?”  
“You literally walked back into my life five minutes ago. I need time to think. Move,” Nate waved the cleaver in the direction of the back door.  
Taylor and Zac spared each other a glance before Taylor led the way.  
“Take the door to your right,” Nate instructed.  
Taylor felt the steel door with his hand as it was too dark to see, and struggled for a moment to pull it open. When he had it open a crack both he and Zac took a quick step backward.  
“You’re kidding,” Zac glanced back.  
“I’m not. Get in or start bleeding.”  
“You’re putting us in the freezer?” Taylor asked incredulously.  
“If you don’t, I’m going to put the pointy end of this really shiny thing here into the same spot your brother was bleeding from last time I saw him,” Nate said cynically.  
Taylor didn’t need to hear any more, he stepped through. He flinched as the sensor light came on inside and took a quick look around at the animal carcasses adorning every surface along with the mostly whole cow hanging from the ceiling.  
After shooting Nate a glare Zac had followed him.  
“Oh and, Taylor?” Nate got his attention, “your car keys, please.”  
Taylor groaned inwardly as his eyes fell to where Nate held his hand out. He tried not to look in Zac’s direction as he pulled them from his pocket and handed them over.  
“Thank you. And goodnight,” Nate smirked before pulling the door shut on them.  
They could clearly hear the seal locking into place from the inside, and then Nate’s footsteps heading back into the retail area. Taylor kept his ear to the door long enough to hear him walk past a second time as he presumably left the store.


	3. 03

“What did you have to make it so easy for?!”  
“Oh that was easy? So you’re saying I should have just let him slice you open?”  
“I’m not saying-“ Zac cut himself off as he struggled with how to word it.  
“Let’s just concentrate on what to do now,” Taylor was breathing into his hands already to try and stay warm, “we’ve got what, about twelve hours before hypothermia?”  
“Depends on the temperature,” Zac was hugging himself, “and I don’t see a dial anywhere. It must be outside.”  
“Okay, so… ventilation,” Taylor began to look for the vents.  
“They’re tiny, Tay,” Zac shook his head, “I can see them from here.”  
Taylor had a look anyway, and grunted in frustration as he rolled down his sleeves. Zac made his way back to the door, listening quietly for a moment, before trying to pull it open. It definitely wasn’t moving. When he coughed as a result, Taylor shot him a look.  
“Can you breathe alright?” he frowned.  
“So far so good,” Zac nodded, looking to the ceiling.  
Taylor hesitated thoughtfully, then made his way to the back wall.  
“Come here,” he insisted as he put his back to it and slid down.  
“Why…?” Zac looked suspicious.  
“If we’re going to be here a while we need to do the body heat thing,” Taylor reasoned, “and you’re gonna need it more than me, so get down here. No complaints.”  
“Yes Dad,” Zac rolled his eyes as he made his way over.  
He sat down next to him and Taylor pulled him into his arms, before taking off his beanie and handing it to him.  
“Put this on your chest,” he instructed.  
Zac rolled his eyes again but took it and shoved it down the front of his shirt before zipping up his jacket again. He sighed to himself as Taylor shook his hair out.  
“What do you think’s going to happen?” Zac asked after a moment of silence.  
“Honestly?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, “I think he’s going to come back with a gun and shoot us.”  
“You think?”  
Taylor closed his eyes and ducked his head a little, trying to use his breath for warmth as well.  
“I think he’s managed to create this entire new identity for himself, and we’re the only threat to that,” he reasoned, “I don’t see any reason at all why he’d just let us walk.”  
“And I thought Bernard was the scary one.”  
Taylor hesitated at that, thinking it over.  
“Bernard was determined,” he said finally, “Nate was… different. He always had an air of indifference to what was going on. It was almost as if he had this life already planned out for him and he had nothing to worry about but getting here. But the distinct lack of thought for human life is definitely there in both of them. Or, was in Bernard’s case.”  
“What about the other guy?” Zac asked.  
“Trent?” Taylor confirmed, “I don’t know. I didn’t see much of him. I’m not even sure I remember what he looked like anymore.”  
“That’s gotta work in our favour, right?” Zac glanced upward.  
“I don’t know,” Taylor shook his head, “after all, you didn’t know Nate. And we’re still locked in a freezer.”


	4. 04

“Did you ever think it’d end for us like this?” Zac shivered after hours had passed.  
“The cow’s a surprise,” Taylor replied, making Zac chuckle.  
“You know… I’ve often wondered how things would have turned out differently if it was me that had gone that morning,” Zac began.  
“Gone?”  
“Yeah. To get the firewood.”  
Taylor frowned.  
“Why?” he asked finally.  
“Just what ifs,” Zac shrugged, “it could have been any one of us, right?”  
“Technically it was two out of three,” Taylor reasoned.  
“Yeah, how does Ike manage to stay out of it so easily?” Zac mused.  
“Well I don’t know about ‘easily’,” Taylor pointed out, “he did spend a lot of time going out of his mind. For us it was mainly physical at least.”  
“You can’t tell me that experience didn’t screw you in the head.”  
“I did say mainly,” Taylor smirked.  
After another moment of silence, he looked down suddenly.  
“How are you off for meds?” he asked.  
“Prepared,” Zac assured, “I’ve got about a week’s worth on me. You never know with Frankie.”  
He hesitated, then went to sit up. Taylor stopped him.  
“They’d come looking for us, right?”  
“Of course,” Taylor nodded, “but we took a detour to get here, remember? I think Ike’s the only one who knew we needed a butcher.”  
“And I bet he moved your car so no one would see it out front,” Zac groaned.  
“Probably the first thing he did.”  
“Think Ike would call Rick?”  
“I don’t know. Probably.”  
Zac shifted slightly, trying to pull his leather jacket tighter over his chest.  
“Still breathing okay?” Taylor asked.  
“Yep.”

*

“Hey, Ike? Did Tay and Zac forget about tonight?”  
“Uh… not that I’m aware of. They set off around five,” Isaac frowned as he answered the phone.  
“Five? Are you sure? Because they’re not here.”  
“Yeah Tay said something about stopping to pick up some food and then heading right over. Did you try them?”  
“No, I rang you first. Of course I tried them! Both of them. Both phones are off.”  
“Weird,” Isaac rubbed his chin, “if I hear from them I’ll let you know. Sorry Frankie.”  
“Talk to you later, Ike.”  
Isaac hung up, puzzling for a moment. He glanced at the clock. It was just before midnight.  
He made his way into the kitchen and went for his address book. It took him a while to find it among his paperwork, and he quickly sifted through for the number he needed. Dialling, he waited.  
“Isaac?”  
“Hey, Rick,” Isaac scratched his head, “it’s probably nothing, but you should know…”


	5. 05

Taylor jumped a little as he registered footsteps outside, just enough to wake Zac from his dozing.  
“Someone’s here,” he said softly, making Zac look up.  
They otherwise didn’t move as they listened to the door being pried open. When they didn’t recognise the men they saw they couldn’t help but be hopeful, until they realised they’d come prepared with blankets. They’d known they were there.  
“Get up,” the first man ordered as they walked in, “and let’s get you warmed up.”  
“I know he said they were on ice, but literally?” the second one smirked.  
Taylor managed to pull his arms from around Zac just as Zac sat up. It wasn’t fast enough however, and the first man pulled Zac up by the arm. He flinched at the sudden movement, not yet able to move his arms from his chest and stomach, as a blanket was wrapped around his shoulders.  
“Let’s hurry up and get them out of here,” the second man made for Taylor.  
Taylor tried to stand up himself as he was also given a blanket, quickly wrapping it around his shoulders as he watched Zac being taken from the room. Glad that the blanket appeared to have been warmed up previously, he followed the first two out.  
They were led to the right, down to a door that led to the outside. It was still very dark out there signalling that it was still the early hours of the morning.  
Parked back against the rear of the building was a courier van with blacked out windows. Taylor paused when he saw it, soon receiving a shove in the back to keep him moving. When they made it to the back, Zac was pulled in.  
“What’s going on? Where are you taking us?” Taylor looked between the men.  
Without warning he was suddenly clocked across the jaw from the man beside him. He cried out and held his face, Zac turning back to see what had happened.  
“Sit there,” the first man ordered him.  
Knowing fully well that he was way too weak to put up a fight at this point, Zac sat back obediently onto the bench installed in the back of the van. He watched as his brother was pushed forward and pulled up into the van, soon enough sitting by his side.  
“You okay?” Zac’s voice still shivered.  
Taylor nodded, his eyes not leaving the man that had hit him.  
The three men got into the back with them and closed the doors, one of them banging on the side panels as a signal for the driver to get going.  
“Lock ‘em up,” came the previously unheard voice of the third man with them.  
Taylor and Zac both looked across at him, before spying the first man pulling some handcuffs from a cardboard box that had been sitting across from them. Taylor’s eyes widened as Zac just closed his.  
“We don’t need them, I-“  
“Shut up!” the second man hit Taylor again.  
Zac flinched, wishing he was simply able to move enough to hug him. He didn’t bother putting up a fight as the cuffs clicked around his wrists, but he was already more worried about his brother who he knew must have been at least minorly freaking out over the prospect of once again being in cuffs.  
They went on without hassle, and Taylor once again held his throbbing face as the van started to pull out of the alley.  
Two of the men settled onto the bench across from the brothers, the other taking a seat beside Taylor. Knowing it was the man who’d hit him – twice now – Taylor avoided eye contact.  
“Better call ahead and let them know we’re on our way,” he’d suggested.


	6. 06

“En route with Nate’s duo. Including male, blonde, approximately 6’3, thin build. Along with second male, brown hair, about 6’ and also thin build. Both mid 20’s. ETA one hour to point.”  
A crackle came through the radio in response.  
“Roger that. We’ll have them set up.”  
Taylor glanced at Zac when man number one had said that, before putting the radio down.  
“Gag them,” he indicated, making Zac sit up.  
“Wait!” Taylor insisted, dodging as the man next to him raised his hand to hit him again.  
The remaining accomplice had already grabbed a piece of rag and made for Zac, quickly grabbing him by the hair and pulling his head down so that he could tie it around the back of his head.  
“Wait!” Taylor tried again, before taking the hit that came but struggling through it to grab the guy’s arm, “you can’t obstruct his airway like that! He had a lung transplant!”  
The hitter grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back as the one standing looked down at Zac.  
“Is that true?” he asked.  
Zac gulped, but nodded, sparing Taylor a worried glance.  
“That might change things,” he looked to the one who’d been on the radio.  
“Want me to give them a call?”  
“Do. In the meantime…” he pulled the gag out of Zac’s mouth and threw it to the man holding Taylor instead, who quickly obliged putting it onto him.  
Zac gave his brother a sympathetic look before being distracted by the sound of a gun arming.  
“Any noise out of you, lung-boy, and you lose a kneecap,” his captor dug the handgun into Zac’s knee for emphasis, “got it?”  
He nodded in response before Taylor sat down heavily again next to him.  
“Yeah. Yeah. No, it turns out the second kid’s had a lung transplant. Is that gonna be a problem?” the man who’d previously been on the radio was now on a cell phone, “should we just dump him at the river?”  
Taylor’s head shot to Zac, whose eyes had widened.  
“Okay. Right. No I understand perfectly. We’ll be there soon.”  
He hung up and the boys held their breath.  
“We’re taking him in. They can check him over and decide if he’s worth keeping on board,” he revealed before giving Taylor a pointed look, “but no… ‘airway obstructing’ or drugs until we know what we’re dealing with.”  
“Speaking of…” the hitter stood up to head for the cardboard box.  
Taylor reached over and grabbed Zac’s hand, giving it a supportive squeeze. Zac took a deep breath.  
Their grips suddenly tightened when the man revealed a syringe and tested it for air bubbles.  
Zac held back as hard as he could on saying anything, knowing what he was in for if he did. Predictably, the man went for Taylor, grabbing his other arm and using his thumb to find a vein.  
Taylor had no room to pull away as the needle dove in and the clear liquid discharged. When it was over the man held his thumb over the small wound and threw the needle back into the box.  
“Just a little something to help him sleep,” the radio man assured, noticing how wide Zac’s eyes were, “unlucky for you, you don’t get the same time out.”  
Taylor groaned as he almost immediately began to feel dizzy, and Zac purposely stuck his shoulder out a little so that he could rest his head on it. Taylor did so before he could feel like falling.  
Zac held onto his hand for reassurance right up until the moment Taylor passed out.


	7. 07

The next morning, Isaac was steadily beginning to panic. No one had heard from either Taylor or Zac since they’d left Zac’s house the previous afternoon. Adding the extremely minute chances of both their phones being either off or dead, and Isaac was not a happy camper.  
He’d barely woken up sometime after sunrise when his phone rang.  
“Hello?”  
“Hey Isaac, it’s Rick. Any word?”  
Isaac smiled slightly, knowing he was sharing his panic with at least a few other people this time.  
“No word. Can you…?”  
“I’ll track the GPS in their phones, if that’s what you’re asking, yes. I’m on my way to you now and I’ll do it when I get there.”  
“Thanks Rick, see you soon.”  
They hung up and Isaac put his phone down, before making his way into the study to start up his computer and have it ready.  
He mulled over how helpful Rick would have been all those years ago. They’d met him the day of the big showdown at the border – he was one of the patrol officers on duty, and had been the one to literally cut Taylor free. Since then they’d managed to keep in contact, and not just for Christmas card lists. Admittedly they didn’t see him as much these days, but there was still the occasional call just to check in.  
It was about half an hour until Rick pulled into Isaac’s driveway. Isaac met him at the door.  
“Thanks for coming,” he showed him in, “I’m still hoping it’s nothing, but it’s been all night. And you know how Taylor’s been with making plans ever since…”  
“Yes I know. Let’s see if we can track them down, shall we?” Rick headed for the study.  
He jumped onto the computer and picked up a police tracking website, sent through his login credentials, and waited.  
“Got the details handy?” he asked.  
Isaac grabbed a nearby notebook and handed it to him.  
“Okay. We’ll try Taylor first.”  
He typed in the details and hit search. They waited as the graphics on screen signalled the triangulation of the GPS signal, slowly zooming in on the streets of Tulsa.  
“Where were they headed last night?” Rick asked.  
“To a friend’s place, out that way,” Isaac pointed to the general area on the screen map, “they were supposed to be taking food with them, but ended up having to buy something on the way. I’m thinking if something happened… that’s when. But because we don’t know where exactly they went we can’t just follow their footsteps, so to speak.”  
“Following their footsteps now,” Rick couldn’t help but smile, “okay, so his phone was turned off last night around six, but the GPS stayed on of course.”  
“So glad you talked us into getting those things installed,” Isaac shook his head.  
“Looks like it was turned off at that intersection,” Rick pointed, “but I should be able to get some further details. Looks like an industrial district so that would be where they stopped for the food.”  
“But why would he turn his phone off?” Isaac shrugged.  
“Million dollar question. Let’s see… Then I’ve got it travelling West, and…” he paused.  
“What?” Isaac asked, worried.  
“Into the river?” Rick looked up at him, confused, “looks like the phone was dumped.”


	8. 08

“Try Zac,” Isaac insisted, still trying to keep himself calm.  
Rick restarted the program after taking notes of Taylor’s phone’s last co-ordinates. Then he tried the same thing with Zac’s details.  
“Okay his phone was turned off slightly earlier,” Rick’s eyes narrowed as he looked through the coding, “triangulating his last position now.”  
Isaac took a deep breath as he waited, hoping for a different outcome. There was always the possibility that Taylor’s phone had been stolen, after all.  
“Isaac look up this address,” Rick said suddenly, pulling him out of his daze, “because it just came up for Zac as well. It’s where his phone was turned off.”  
“On it,” Isaac took the notepad and left the room.  
He found his own phone and returned to the study, quickly looking up the address in his directory.  
“It’s a butcher,” he looked up, “that definitely sounds like somewhere they would have gone.”  
“Okay so the phones were at least together then,” Rick nodded, sending the GPS trace forward, “and now… crud.”  
“What?”  
“Back to the river. Both their cells hit the water, Isaac.”  
Isaac returned the notepad to the desk.  
“Do you know exactly where?” his eyes searched the screen.  
“I believe there’s a couple of boat ramps there, but I’ll see if I can narrow it down between the two of them,” Rick shook his head, “Ike? I don’t like the look of this.”  
“Me neither.”  
“We should call the station. At the very least let them know what’s going on. They might not want you going down there on your own.”  
“Like they’re going to stop me?” Isaac couldn’t help but chuckle.  
“Look, last time you were lucky, okay?” Rick tried to reason, “and you knew they were heading for the border. Now they could be anywhere in Tulsa, or beyond now even. The GPS might be the metal detector for your needle in the haystack, but it’s still only a faint idea.”  
“Is this you trying to talk me out of it? Because you’re sounding pretty convinced that this isn’t just a misunderstanding all of a sudden.”  
“Tell me your gut isn’t saying something’s wrong,” Rick scorned, “because mine sure is. It has been all night.”  
“Which means we shouldn’t waste any time,” Isaac grabbed his phone and the notepad and left the room.  
Rick glanced back at the computer before jumping up to follow him.  
“You’re going now?” he frowned as he shadowed him down the hallway.  
“Waiting only lets them get further away,” Isaac reasoned, grabbing his car keys and stopping just to write a note, “I found them once, Rick. I can find them again.”  
“You’re not going alone,” Rick insisted, “let me get a few things out of the car, and-“  
“You’re coming with?” Isaac looked up in surprise, “I thought you were trying to talk me out of it?”  
“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em?” Rick shrugged, “I’m not letting you go after them alone – especially if it’s the kind of trouble we know too well. And this time, we’re going in prepared. I’m bringing my hardware.”  
Isaac grinned as he stood up and turned off the lights, “I like the sound of that.”


	9. 09

Taylor groaned slightly as he came to, rolling his head as it throbbed. He strained to open his eyes so that he could look up at what was holding his wrists above his head in such an awkward position.  
It took him a moment to realise that he was standing, being held up by his wrists which appeared to be chained to some sort of meat hook. The gag still tied tightly around his head. Once he found his feet and was able to steady himself, he tried to get a better look at the chains. But he couldn’t see a lock from where he was.  
He blinked as he tried to focus on the room he was in. It was small, that was for sure. There was a single fluorescent tube on the ceiling that provided the only light, and the door was in front of him about three metres away. Aside from the dirt and stains covering the floor and walls, there really was nothing else to look at.  
He closed his eyes again as he tried to remember what had happened. He remembered the van, and he remembered grabbing Zac’s hand… he didn’t get far with the memories before he could hear footsteps outside the door. One a set of heavy steps, the other appeared to be… heels?  
“This one should be awake by now,” he heard a man’s voice, followed by what sounded like a heavy bolt being undone.  
The door swung open and Taylor cringed as a harsh light penetrated what he hadn’t realised had actually been a rather dark room.  
“And he is!”  
Taylor’s eyes fell on the man who wore a light grey suit, looking very out of place for his surroundings. He was indicating for the second person to enter, and she did so. Taylor could barely believe how out of place she looked in her black heels, stockings, and formal black skirt suit.  
“Don’t get too close to this one, he’s a new addition,” the man checked his clipboard as she stopped midway between Taylor and the door, “came in a few hours ago, in fact. Hasn’t even been debriefed yet. It’s unusual, but it happens. Someone’s put a rush on this one.”  
“He’s dirty,” Taylor couldn’t put his finger on the woman’s thick accent.  
“Like I said, someone was in a rush to get him through. The details we have are sketchy. He was a musician, from a large family and a father of five… so good with kids. His tests came out clean so if you’d like to ever breed from him the children he has so far are mainly blonde hair brown eyed…”  
Taylor’s brow furrowed as his breathing quickened, while he started to get a handle on what seemed to be happening here. The woman gave him a curious look.  
“Musician, you said?” she asked.  
“Ah…” the man checked his papers, “yes. Pianist, I believe.”  
“Do you have any of his work?” she asked, looking as if she wanted to step closer.  
“I’m sure we could find something. Is the sale going to depend on it?”  
“Maybe,” she tilted her head, “may I hear him speak?”  
The man hesitated as Taylor made eye contact with him.  
“It’s very unorthodox to try with a new entrant,” he cautioned, “but if you think you could handle it…”  
She nodded, and the man sighed. He stepped around to Taylor’s back and fiddled with the knots in the gag, grimacing a little as he pulled it away.  
Taylor immediately took a deep breath.  
“Where’s Zac?” he asked first, eyes on the man who’d returned to his line of vision.  
“Who?” the woman turned to him also.


	10. 10

The man quickly checked his clipboard again.  
“Ah… the other you were brought in with?” he gave Taylor a questioning look.  
“My brother,” Taylor confirmed, annoyed to find himself shivering slightly.  
“There’s a brother as well?” the woman looked interested.  
The man turned a page and seemed to consider her question.  
“They’re not sure yet,” he told her, “apparently there are some health issues involved. He may not make it through the medical checks.”  
“If he does, I’d like to see him too,” she nodded.  
“That shouldn’t be an issue.”  
“I do like his accent,” she returned her attention to Taylor.  
“He was picked up in… Oklahoma.”  
She nodded, as if considering, before turning her back.  
“I think I’ve seen enough,” she announced.  
Her escort gave Taylor a glance before discarding the cloth that had been his gag and opting to show her out instead. Moments later, Taylor was alone again.  
“What the hell?” he whispered to himself, burying his face in his shoulder.

*

“That’s definitely a butcher,” Rick stated the obvious as they pulled up to the sidewalk.  
Isaac waited until he’d parked before opening the door to get out. As Rick got out the other side, Isaac leant over the roof.  
“So this is definitely where their phones were turned off?” he made sure.  
“This is it,” Rick shrugged, stepping around to join him, “have you got photos handy?”  
Isaac held up his phone as they made their way to the store and inside. Their eyes fell on the portly Italian behind the counter, already serving his first customers for the day.  
Grudgingly, Isaac waited in line while Rick took a subtle look around. He couldn’t see anything to suggest it being anything but an ordinary small-time butcher store.  
Due to the friendly nature of the man behind the counter it was a good five minutes or so before Isaac was seen to.  
“Excuse me, hi,” Isaac smiled, having his phone ready.  
“I’m actually looking for my brothers, who went missing last night. We think they might have stopped in here to buy some meat for a party they were going to. Have you seen either of these guys?”  
He held the phone up, and the man opted to take it from his hands so he could see more clearly. Even though he had to hold it a couple of feet from his glasses.  
“I non, non… no see this one here aye?” he pointed to Taylor in the photo, “but this a one right here, he come in last night. Just as was closing. I had to go, but my assistant Nikolai he help him.”  
“Is your assistant here?” Isaac looked hopeful.  
“Non,” the man shook his head, “he does not start until late. I sorry he no have phone to contact either.”  
“What time will he be in?” Rick joined the conversation.  
“Lunchtime,” he handed Isaac his phone back, “you come back then, si?”  
“We will. Thank you,” Isaac used his phone to salute his gratitude.  
He gave Rick a glance before he led the way out of the store.


	11. 11

It must have been hours later when Taylor heard his door being opened again. He prepared himself for the invasion of light this time, but he automatically tried to shrink backward when he recognised the laugh he heard. The chains held him practically straight.  
Nate clapped his hands as he walked forward.  
“Oh, Taylor. The amount of times over the past eight years that I have pictured this exact moment in my head… of course your hair was longer and there was none of this…”  
Taylor flinched back as Nate tapped his chin, indicating his stubble.  
“I really need to take a photo and send it to Trent. I’m sure he’d appreciate the irony.”  
“You… you’re selling us?” Taylor’s voice shook.  
“Correction,” Nate held up a finger, “I sold you. Apparently you made quite a first impression on the lady that was in here earlier. She’s signing the first papers as we speak.”  
“Why?” Taylor shook his head, “why didn’t you just kill us?”  
Nate shrugged.  
“It’s a lot cleaner,” he reasoned, “when you kill people there are bodies to dispose of. Which more often than not end up being found. Along with a lot of convicting evidence. This way there’s no mess to clean up, and as a bonus I get a cut of what you’re worth.”  
“What about Zac?” Taylor tried not to give him the satisfaction of seeing fear in his eyes, but knew he was failing.  
Nate held his hand out and shook it.  
“It’s still 50/50 on whether he enters the program. You don’t need to concern yourself, you’ll probably never see him again.”  
Taylor gulped at that, diverting his eyes. Nate reached out to ruffle his hair, before grabbing it suddenly and pulling his head down. Taylor hissed through his teeth before he laughed and let go.  
“I told them I’d handle your debrief, but you know… I don’t think I’m going to bother,” he taunted.  
“Just tell me what’s going to happen to me,” Taylor’s eyes were to the floor.  
“Well once you’re in the lady’s custody, who’s to say?” Nate shrugged, “but the real fun happens before that, when they ‘train’ you. I’m going to make a personal effort to make sure I see you in electroshock therapy. And by that I mean seeing you tasered.”  
Taylor tilted his head back, trying to stop his eyes welling up.  
“Why do you hate me so much?” he asked finally, “all I ever wanted was to get away from you.”  
“Exactly,” Nate smirked, “and now you’re in a place you’ll never leave. Thus, the irony. Which reminds me…”  
He pulled out a cell phone and quickly managed to take a photo before picking up the gag.  
“Usually the kids are hanging from those hooks. You’re lucky you’re tall and can touch the ground,” he murmured as he went about saving the picture.  
“Besides…” he picked up his earlier train of thought as he put the phone away, “you really are responsible for Bernard’s death, whether you see it that way or not.”  
“You’re kidding, right?” Taylor finally made eye contact, “it was suicide by cop! He didn’t have to run!”  
“See I knew you’d see it that way,” Nate stepped closer to him, making him try to step back again, “because that’s what they told you, isn’t it?”  
Taylor frowned as Nate slipped the gag on again, tying it tighter than it had been previously.  
“Goodnight Taylor,” he slapped his cheek with a smile before turning to leave the room.


	12. 12

Isaac shook his head as Rick pulled up near the boat ramp he’d triangulated earlier.  
“They could be anywhere,” he rubbed his face tiredly.  
“Specifics say in the water. Ready to go for a swim?” Rick gave him a smile.  
Isaac just shrugged and got out of the car. Rick sighed to himself before following him out.  
“We knew this wasn’t going to be easy,” he said.  
“Understatement,” Isaac looked out over the water.  
Rick folded his arms and looked across at him.  
“Okay. You or me?”  
“Huh?”  
“Going in,” Rick indicated the water, “we might as well. We’re not going to see anything from up here.”  
“Well then I guess you’ve got more experience under your belt,” Isaac couldn’t help a small smile.  
“I knew you were going to pull that one. Fine, I’ll do it.”  
He went to the back of his car and started getting undressed. Fishing around in the back for a moment, he managed to find a snorkel set with goggles.  
“Oh you just happened to have those in the car?” Isaac raised an eyebrow.  
“Never know when you might need them. Always gotta be prepared,” Rick reasoned.  
He made his way down to the water’s edge, paused for a second to catch his breath, then dived in.  
Isaac stood on the bank and watched every move he made. It wasn’t long before he gave Isaac a wave, and then ducked below the surface for a significant amount of time. It was just as Isaac was beginning to worry that Rick resurfaced and began the swim back to the shore.  
Isaac met him at the bank, taking what Rick handed up to him as he got out.  
Taylor and Zac’s wallets.  
“What the?!” Isaac looked at him incredulously.  
“It’s Tay’s car,” Rick caught his breath, “believe it or not. Their phones are there, and those were too. No sign of them.”  
Isaac covered his mouth with his hand, feeling like he was going to be sick.  
“It’s really happening again,” he cringed, bending over.  
Rick gave him a pat on the back, before reaching down to take the wallets from him again.  
“I’m gonna dry off, then we should head for the station,” he suggested.  
“We need to go back to the butcher shop. Maybe this… Nikolai… knows something,” Isaac insisted.  
“He very well may, but I think we’re pretty beyond the point of wondering if this is foul play or not. We need to tell the police.”  
Isaac took a few deep breaths before standing up straight again.  
“I’ll give them a call, maybe they’ll meet us there,” he said, going back to the car to grab his phone.  
Rick had grabbed a towel and started drying himself off, before managing to get himself dressed again. Isaac sat in the car to make his call.  
“Hello, who am I speaking with? Cathy? Hi Cathy it’s Isaac Hanson… is Sergeant Davison around?”  
Rick made it back to the driver’s side and got back in the car, waiting until he was sure nothing was being said before starting the engine. He listened as Isaac recounted the events of the night and morning and described where they were going. Once he’d hung up, Rick gave him a questioning look.  
“They’ll meet us there,” Isaac offered, rubbing his face again before looking down at the wallets.


	13. 13

They managed to get back to the butcher store about an hour before closing.  
“Patrol car’s not here,” Rick observed.  
“I’m not waiting,” Isaac insisted, getting out of the car and heading for the store.  
Rick rolled his eyes, but followed.  
When Isaac stepped into the store there were a lot more customers around. The Italian man seemed to be taking care of most of them, and the younger man Isaac assumed was his assistant was seeing to a couple in a corner.  
He made his way over and stood behind them, getting his phone out to find the photo of Zac and Taylor while he waited. By the time the couple had decided what they wanted he couldn’t handle it any longer.  
“Excuse me,” he apologised, “I’m sorry for interrupting, but are you Nikolai?”  
The young man shook his head.  
“No, sorry,” he replied with a slight accent, “Nikolai didn’t show up for work today. He’ll be back tomorrow.”  
“Do you have any way to contact him?” Isaac frowned.  
“Sorry, no.”  
Isaac spun to face Rick, who quickly grabbed him by the arm and pulled him outside.  
“Calm down,” he said under his breath once they were out the door.  
“Calm down?!” Isaac asked incredulously, “how am I supposed to calm down?! Why is this happening again?! It’s been almost a decade!”  
“We’ll work it out,” Rick promised, “if anyone can find Nikolai, it’s the cops, okay?”  
Isaac stopped to take another deep breath, before opening his eyes in time to see a patrol car coming down the street.  
“They’re here,” he nodded to it, making Rick turn around.  
They watched as the officers pulled up behind Rick’s car, getting out and making their way over.  
“Isaac,” one of them held out his hand, “Rick.”  
“Davison,” Isaac returned.  
“We sent another car out to the boat ramp. You said you found their car?”  
“Yeah I went for a dive, it’s down there,” Rick nodded.  
“He pulled these,” Isaac ducked in the window of Rick’s car to produce his brother’s wallets.  
Davison took them and looked them over.  
“Alright. Let’s not panic just yet,” he said with authority as he handed them to the other officer.  
“Pretty sure panic’s already in the building,” Isaac couldn’t help himself.  
“We’ll go have a talk to this butcher,” Davison went on, “I take it you’ll be waiting here?”  
“You’d guess right,” Isaac nodded.  
Davidson nodded to the other officer and they both headed into the store. A number of people walked out once they’d gone in and they heard some cries from the Italian owner.  
Isaac stood back against Rick’s car to wait.  
“Do you think this Nikolai knows something?” Rick asked him.  
“I think it’s an amazing coincidence that he just happens to have the next day off,” Isaac shook his head, “but I don’t know. Maybe something happened to him too. They did say they couldn’t contact him.”  
“Guess we’ll find out,” Rick sighed.


	14. 14

Roughly the same amount of time passed before Taylor heard his door opening again. He opted to keep his eyes closed this time, both through being tired and starting to feel sick to his stomach.  
He finally opened them when he realised there were multiple people entering the room. He looked up in time to see three dark silhouettes, similar in stature to the men that had taken he and Zac from the freezer at the butcher shop.  
He barely had time to register the possibility that they were the same men before one of them reached up and unhooked his chains. Not expecting the sudden release, Taylor fell to his knees with a grunt.  
A second man reached down to pull the gag from his mouth before handing him a bottle of water.  
“Here,” said the gruff voice as Taylor saw what it was.  
He grabbed for it thankfully, confused for a second when his hands wouldn’t work as well as expected, before desperately downing half the bottle in one go.  
“Slow down, you don’t want to throw it up again,” the same man spoke.  
Taylor stopped to breathe at the halfway mark, before closing his eyes and taking another gulp.  
“How long’s he been here?” the first one asked.  
“I’d say almost twenty four hours by that reaction.”  
Taylor managed to catch his breath again, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. It was then that he saw how angrily red they’d gone from the lack of blood circulation.  
“You done?”  
Taylor shook his head and had another drink, managing to leave a little in the bottle before it was taken away from him again. Once relinquished the first man pulled him to his feet, the second replaced his gag, and they began to lead him out of the room. He flinched as he hit the bright hallway, using his chained hands to shield his eyes as best he could.  
They passed multiple doors with heavy bolts on them, much like Taylor assumed had been on his, before taking a stairwell down. Taylor was glad for the lack of lighting on the lower level and let his arms fall in front of him, his shoulders forced inward from the rough angle.  
They soon stopped at a barred door that Taylor couldn’t see anything behind. Once it was opened he realised why – the room was pitch black.  
Only one of the men pulled Taylor inside, half dragging him a few metres in before picking up a length of chain from the floor. He produced a padlock from a pocket and looped it through the chains on Taylor’s wrists, securing them to the main chain. Then he put a hand on Taylor’s shoulder to force him down into a sitting position, before turning to leave the room.  
As the door was shut and locked, Taylor blinked as he tried to focus. His purple vision took longer than usual to kick in, but when it did…  
He struggled for a moment with the gag, managing to pull it down to his throat.  
“Zac?!” he croaked out, pulling on the chain to try and move closer to what he was sure was the outline of his brother.  
He managed to stretch a leg out and kick one of Zac’s feet.  
“Zac?!” he hissed a second time, jumping a little as he heard chains moving somewhere else.  
“Tay?” came a soft reply.  
Taylor breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Zac’s head move.  
“Thank God you’re okay,” he said, “can you sit up?”  
“Not really,” Zac replied honestly, “but I’ll work on it.”


	15. 15

“How long was I out?” Taylor asked.  
“I don’t know when you woke up,” Zac shrugged, “but it took a long time to get here. Wherever we are.”  
“I don’t know either, it was a while ago,” Taylor eyed off where the chain he was connected to led away into a dark corner.  
“What happened?” Zac asked.  
Taylor hesitated, thinking of how to word it.  
“You know why we’re here, right?” he checked, his voice low.  
“I have my suspicions,” Zac admitted, “you would not believe what they have subjected me to.”  
“I think I would,” Taylor thought back to his ‘viewing’ with the woman, “Nate decided to sell us.”  
“Sell… us?” Zac took a moment.  
“Yeah,” Taylor sighed, “instead of killing us. So he could make money from our disappearance.”  
“Asshole.”  
Taylor smirked.  
“Ike’s gonna kill him.”  
“I hope he finds us before he does,” Taylor reasoned.  
He turned his head sharply to the side again when he heard chains move once more.  
“Who’s here?” he whispered.  
“There’s a few of us,” Zac replied just as quietly, “and there were more this morning.”  
“What do you mean?” Taylor frowned.  
“What, you can’t smell that?”  
Taylor blanched, suddenly catching his meaning.  
“Oh gross,” Taylor’s hands covered his mouth and nose.  
“Ten for hospitality, huh?”  
Zac suddenly froze, his eyes toward the door. Taylor watched him, before he heard the footsteps himself. They held their breath as someone walked past and just kept going.  
“So this is what, a holding cell?” Taylor turned back.  
“I guess,” Zac shrugged, “some of these guys have been here a long time. And I mean long.”  
“Well, apparently I won’t be,” Taylor rubbed his face.  
“Huh?”  
“I’ve already been sold,” Taylor’s voice lowered again, “some woman came in earlier and… yeah.”  
Zac stared at him until Taylor making eye contact broke him off.  
“Then Nate showed up,” Taylor went on before Zac could ask anything.  
“Nate was here?” Zac looked confused, “I figured he’d stay in Tulsa.”  
“Maybe he just wanted to make sure we got here,” Taylor pulled his legs in to his chest and looped his arms over them, resting his chin on his knees.  
“What’d he say? Besides the obvious.”  
“He said I’d never see you again, so I’m glad he was wrong about that,” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, “but he was basically blaming me for Bernard’s death. And… gloating, I guess. I spent so long trying to get away from him – from them – and now…”  
He lifted his wrists for emphasis.  
“He just reiterated that there was no way out this time.”  
“Jerk.”


	16. 16

Isaac’s head shot up as the sergeant and officer stepped out of the store. He immediately noticed their game faces.  
When Davison spotted him they made their way over to where Isaac and Rick stood against the wall.  
“We’ve managed to gain the co-operation of the owner,” Davison began.  
“What does that mean?” Isaac looked between them.  
“It means he’s going to call as soon as Nikolai shows,” the officer explained, “he said it wasn’t unusual at all for him to not show up for work, which is why his nephew was quick to step in as a replacement. However since they had an argument about it he hasn’t gone longer than two days without contacting him at least.”  
“So what if they don’t hear from him by tomorrow?” Rick shook his head.  
“Then we’ll put a BOLO on him. There’s quite enough security feed to get a good description to pan out.”  
“They could be anywhere in forty eight hours,” Isaac rubbed his head anxiously, “we can’t just sit around. I need a trail to follow.”  
“The butcher did give us an address,” Davison informed him, “which was Nikolai’s last known home address. According to him, he hasn’t lived there in a couple of years, but we’re going to go down and case the neighbourhood just in case.”  
“Can I come with?” Isaac asked straight away, “maybe we could help?”  
“Maybe I could be of assistance?” Rick stepped in before Davison could object, “this is my forte, after all. And I could keep Isaac out of trouble.”  
He gave him a pointed look, which only made Isaac look to Davison.  
“It’s going to take time, you know that right?” Davison seemed to make sure.  
“Of course I know that. But at least we’re not starting from scratch,” Isaac pointed out.  
Davison hesitated, presumably thinking it over, before grabbing his notebook and writing something down. He tore out the page and before Isaac could grab it he handed it to Rick.  
“Keep him out of trouble, and out of sight,” he said determinedly.  
“Got it,” Rick nodded.  
“I’m only doing this because of our history,” Davison looked to Isaac, “rightfully I shouldn’t be telling you anything. But you and I both know…”  
He trailed off, as if not wanting to say it.  
“Let’s concentrate on taking this one step at a time,” Rick suggested, breaking the awkward silence that followed.  
“Right. You’ve got my number?” Isaac asked Davison.  
“Call my cell if you find anything, and I’ll do the same,” Davison nodded.  
“Thank you,” Isaac said sincerely, before he and Rick headed back for the car.  
The policemen watched as they drove away, before heading back for their patrol car.  
“So how far away is it?” Isaac asked, Rick having already plugged the address into the GPS.  
“About a half hour. You do realise this could take all night, yeah?”  
“I don’t care,” Isaac insisted.  
“Of course you don’t. But we should get some sleep at some point. We should choose a cut off time.”  
“Let’s just see how we go,” Isaac insisted.  
They drove the rest of the way in silence.


	17. 17

Zac looked up again hours later when footsteps were again heard. Taylor only turned his head to the door when he heard them stop and the door being unlocked.  
“Stay down,” Zac whispered, as Taylor gave him a curious glance.  
Two men came through the door this time holding something in their hands. They walked in to a spot just in front of Taylor, and dropped whatever it was to the ground. As they turned to leave, Taylor’s chain started moving. He barely had time to duck back out of the way before a dark shape hurled itself in front of him, lunging for what was on the ground.  
“Woah!” Taylor fell backwards, suddenly realising there were more dark shapes that were fighting over it.  
At a quick count he guessed four. By the time the door was locked again, it was over, and the people Taylor had seen had retreated to their corners again.  
“What was that?” Taylor whispered, now very aware that they weren’t alone in the dark.  
“Feeding time,” Zac responded just as quiet.  
Taylor turned to him, well aware of how short his brother’s chains were.  
“How were you supposed to…?”  
“I’m not,” Zac swallowed heavily.  
Taylor hesitated, his mind racing. There was nothing left on the floor.  
“How often does it happen?” he asked.  
“Once a day, I’d guess,” Zac shrugged, “it’s happened twice since I’ve been here.”  
Taylor’s head darted to the side when he heard a quiet burp from the darkness.  
“Same thing every time?” he asked.  
“Yeah,” Zac nodded.  
Taylor’s mind worked overtime for a moment, before he tested the chain again to see if it would let him get any closer to his brother now that whoever was attached to the other end had moved. It wouldn’t.  
“Still got my beanie?” he decided to change the subject.  
Zac shook his head, “sorry.”  
“Just wondering,” Taylor glanced up at the door again, “surprised you still have that jacket.”  
“Me too,” Zac smirked, “especially… now. You’d think they’d sell it.”  
“Maybe it’s part of your deal,” Taylor joked.  
Zac rolled his eyes, shifting so that he was laying down onto his back. He coughed a little as he did so making Taylor give him a worried look.  
“Taking your meds?” he asked.  
Zac nodded.  
Taylor watched him a moment longer, before taking a look at the space he had and awkwardly managing to lay down in a similar position.  
“So a lady bought you, huh?” Zac turned his head slightly to make eye contact with him.  
“I guess,” Taylor closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, “when she found out about you she seemed interested too. And she wanted to hear some of our music.”  
“That sounds weird,” Zac frowned, “why?”  
“I don’t know,” Taylor said softly, “but there’s a chance we could be together then, right?”  
Zac turned his head back to the ceiling and closed his eyes.  
“I’m not going to count on anything right now,” he said decidedly.


	18. 18

“I think that’s it for tonight,” Rick said, if somewhat regrettably.  
“I can go another hour,” Isaac insisted.  
“If we bang down any more doors tonight, we’re going to get shot,” Rick insisted, “it’s too late, and we’re waking people up.”  
Isaac rubbed his face tiredly.  
“Okay,” he finally relented, holding back a yawn, “but I want to start again first thing.”  
“We will,” Rick insisted, starting to lead him back down the street toward where his car was parked.  
“Are you going to make it home, or should we find a motel?” Isaac asked, giving him a worried glance all of a sudden.  
“I won’t make it,” Rick shook his head, “motel it is.”  
“I’ll just message Nikki and tell her what’s happening,” Isaac got his phone out.  
“Surprised she let you do this.”  
“Pretty sure Kate and Nat have that covered,” Isaac smirked.  
He sent the message and put his phone away as they made it to the car.  
“We should probably eat, too,” Rick suggested as he got in.  
“Probably a good idea,” Isaac sighed, closing his door and putting his belt on.  
They drove around for some time as they tried to find a motel, succeeding after about an hour. After a quick refuel and buying some food they headed in to get a restless night’s sleep.

*

Isaac almost jumped out of his skin when his phone rang sometime the next morning. He jumped out of the seedy motel bed and grabbed it from the table.  
“Davison?” he asked as he answered it, blinking his eyes as he tried to see.  
“Hey Isaac. Just calling about our casing last night…”  
“We didn’t get anything,” Isaac admitted reluctantly, looking towards where Rick had sat up and rubbed his eyes.  
“We did.”  
He had Isaac’s attention.  
“A couple of neighbours in the same apartment complex remember the young man living there just over a year ago. They say he mostly kept to himself but had odd visitors at all hours of the day and night which made him stand out.”  
“Could any of them help us find him?” Isaac asked.  
“One of them had an old contact number he’d given them. We’re going to try a trace on it this morning.”  
“When will you know?” Isaac asked, grabbing his watch and cringing at how long they’d slept in.  
“A few hours. Depending on what we find, I’ll message or call you later. Wait for us, yeah?”  
Isaac sighed.  
“Fine. We’ll head back home and wait.”  
“Thanks Isaac.”  
Isaac hung up and looked across at Rick, still struggling to see with the light in the room.  
“They got a phone number,” Isaac revealed, “they’re going to run a trace and see what happens. He said to go home and wait.”  
“And are we?” Rick asked.  
Isaac just smirked, before going to have a quick shower.


	19. 19

Taylor and Zac had both slept and therefore weren’t sure how long it had been when the door being unbolted woke them up again. Taylor looked up dazedly as two men entered, gulping a little as they stepped toward him before skirting around something on the floor and heading down toward the other prisoner Taylor was attached to. Zac didn’t bother moving.  
“Today’s your lucky day 328,” one of them said, before a struggle was heard followed by a hit and an exclamation.  
Taylor sat back as far as he could, watching the darkness for any of the movement he could hear. A moment later the men emerged, dragging a man with them who looked to be in his late 30’s with a bushy beard and covered in dirt. His eyes were closed, but he was evidently conscious.  
Taylor watched as they led him from the room, one of them stopping to turn to the left.  
“Your time’s up,” he pointed into the opposite darkness, before following his associate out, “we’ll be back later.”  
Taylor frowned, wondering what he’d meant and wishing he could see that far into the room. The door was bolted again and Taylor immediately pulled on his wrists. His eyebrows rose when he finally gained some leeway, and was able to shuffle backwards enough to reach Zac with his arms.  
“You awake?” he asked, elbowing him in the side.  
“Yes,” Zac’s eyes opened to slits.  
“Has that happened before?”  
Taylor saw his brother nod, before he rubbed his face tiredly.  
“It means he’s dead. The other guy’s been sold, I’d assume.”  
Taylor looked toward where the man had pointed, still not able to see anything.  
“So… what? They’re gonna kill him?” Taylor asked incredulously.  
“They only keep us here for a certain amount of time,” Zac shook his head, “if we don’t die, then… yeah.”  
“This is insane,” Taylor shook his head, his eyes wide.  
“Welcome to Hell,” Zac couldn’t help but smirk, “I’m going back to sleep.”  
Taylor looked down at him, wishing for the hundredth time that there was something he could do. They were both tired, hungry, thirsty and in pain from their cramped conditions. Taylor knew he had a slight advantage over his brother here, but his protective instincts had been hitched into overdrive. And still, there was nothing he could do for him.  
It would have been an hour or so later when a single man returned. Taylor presumed the one who had spoken earlier. He made his way in and headed to their left, in the direction he’d pointed.  
Taylor wondered at the distinct lack of vocabulary or sound in general when the man began laying into him. He could hear the hits being taken, some of them making him cringe sympathetically.  
Just when he thought that surely the guy must have been dead already, he heard a rattle of chains as they were unlocked and two shadows emerged from the dark.  
“So everyone can see what happens to the worthless ones,” the guy sneered, dropping his prisoner in a heap beside where the food had been dropped earlier.  
The man didn’t move, but Taylor and Zac’s eyes were locked. A moment later the man had pulled a knife, knelt beside the prisoner on the floor, pulled him up by the hair and slit his throat.  
“Oh my God!” Taylor couldn’t help but cry out as he pulled backward on the chains.  
Zac grimaced and just turned away. The perpetrator simply wiped his blade off and turned to take his leave, leaving the crumpled man on the floor to gurgle out his final breaths in front of them.


	20. 20

Isaac sighed as he stepped out of the butcher store again. Rick looked up when he heard him return to the car.  
“No Nikolai, I take it?”  
“Apparently his shift doesn’t start for another hour,” Isaac rolled his eyes.  
Rick tapped his fingers on the car roof.  
“Maybe we should go back to the river. See if they missed anything when they pulled Tay’s car up this morning?”  
“We do need something to do for an hour,” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
They got back into the car and set off. As they made it to the boat ramp, Isaac chewed his lip nervously when he saw the water everywhere and tyre marks indicating where the police had been and gone.  
“They’d take it to impound, right?” he asked.  
“Right,” Rick replied as he shut the car off, “they’ll give it a thorough search, and probably keep it for the duration of the case.”  
“You mean until Tay comes home,” Isaac gave him a glance.  
“Yeah,” Rick sighed.  
They got out of the car and walked down to the bank, keeping an eye out for anything that might have fallen out of the car as it was pulled from the water.  
“Did they send divers down?” Isaac asked.  
“Your guess is as good as mine. Pretty sure they would have, though. It’s how I found it after all.”  
Isaac nodded, looking out at the water thoughtfully.  
“This doesn’t make sense,” he said finally.  
“What?” Rick looked across at him.  
“Any of it,” Isaac shrugged, “I mean if it were one of the other two guys, Nate or… Trent? If they were behind this, why would they go to so much trouble? Why wouldn’t they just kill them outright and…”  
“Leave the bodies with the car?” Rick finished for him, “I don’t know. I wouldn’t begin to know how their minds work.”  
Isaac shook his head.  
“I know they’re not dead,” he admitted, “call it a gut feeling. But I know something’s seriously wrong. And I just don’t get why on Earth either of those guys would need hostages any more. At least last time it made sense – they had an endgame. We knew what it was.”  
“So maybe we just need to figure out the endgame this time,” Rick looked out at the water before stepping around Isaac to the nearby grassed area to check the ground.  
“We still don’t know the circumstances,” Isaac began thoughtfully, “like… there could be a possibility that Tay and Zac were watched for some time before this happened. Maybe they were being stalked without us knowing and they just found the time to pounce. Another option is that they stumbled onto one or both of those two in a completely innocent, random occurrence, and were taken advantage of. Maybe one or both of them still see Tay or Zac as threats to their freedom?”  
“All good points,” Rick nodded.  
“Still doesn’t answer why they weren’t with the car.”  
“Hopefully the car itself will turn up more clues,” Rick suggested, “but I don’t see us finding out until they’ve had time to go through it, which could be days away.”


	21. 21

Taylor could feel himself starting to sweat as he felt more and more sick as the time passed.  
The man left bleeding on the floor had expired quite some time earlier, and was close enough to the brothers that they could see his body going through its final motions.  
Zac had managed to get back to sleep soon after, but Taylor was being kept awake both through the sudden shock at being brought back to a mental place he hadn’t been in eight years, and through the very real threat that a similar fate was capable of being held for Zac. He knew now that his priority, if he had any hope at all of gaining ground with these people, would be to get Zac out of there. He could worry about himself later.  
He was still lost in thought when the door was opened again by two intruders. Guessing at the time Taylor quickly pulled himself together as they stepped in, predictably dumping the food right near the lifeless body.  
Without waiting to see the fight, Taylor darted forward and got there first. He barely had half a second before someone was on him, and the other person was larger.  
He managed to grab what appeared to be a bread roll and retreated backwards while the remaining two fought over what was left. He caught a stray remark from one of their captors about needing to clean the cell out as they left, before taking his prize back over to Zac.  
“Zac?” he managed to nudge his side in an effort to wake him up.  
Zac’s eyes opened tiredly, and he groaned a little as he shifted his weight.  
“Here, I got you something,” Taylor said softly, holding it out.  
“What?”  
“Feeding time, right?” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, “here, take it.”  
Zac swallowed dryly as he struggled to sit up, squinting across at his brother as if to check if he was serious. When he saw the bread in his hand his eyes widened, and he reached out for it. Taylor just barely managed to throw it so that he could catch.  
“What did you get?” Zac asked.  
“Nothing,” Taylor turned to check that there was indeed nothing left.  
“Tay…”  
“Don’t worry about it, you need it more than I do,” Taylor insisted, “just hurry up and eat it.”  
“Tay, you should have some too,” Zac insisted.  
“Hey,” Taylor looked him in the eye insistently, “they won’t let me die, okay? I’ll be fine. Eat it.”  
Zac stared at him in silence for a moment, the reality hitting him hard. Finally he sat back.  
“Thanks,” he said softly, looking it over before taking a careful bite.  
Taylor offered him a small smile, trying to twist his wrists as he looked back toward the door. Failing in trying to move his wrists, he tried exercising his shoulders instead. Finding that it was only making him feel worse in the stomach, he soon stopped.  
Zac finished eating and left his arms over his own stomach, ready for the awkward sounds it was surely about to make.  
“Feel any better?” Taylor asked when he saw.  
“I’m sure I will soon,” Zac replied, closing his eyes.  
Taylor watched him, once again wishing there was more that he could do. He knew that if he wasn’t careful, the feeling of helplessness was going to overwhelm him. And he also knew that nothing would make Nate any happier.  
“Get some more sleep dude,” he suggested softly.


	22. 22

Isaac could feel his heart racing as they neared the butcher shop once again. Something would be different this time, he knew it.  
He glanced at the time as Nate pulled up the car in their usual spot. They’d been just over an hour down at the river, and including travel time to and from there Nikolai would be long overdue in starting his shift.  
“Ready?” Rick asked when he noticed Isaac not moving.  
Isaac just nodded before stepping out of the car. He began to walk up to the door, hearing Rick’s footsteps shadowing him, and he looked through the window as he approached.  
He picked up speed.  
Rick managed to grab the door as Isaac burst through, heading straight for the assistant they hadn’t seen before.  
“Excuse me,” Isaac began pulling out his phone as he got the guy’s attention.  
Rick gave the owner a glance, who was watching them warily.  
“What can I help you with?” the assistant asked, not looking up for a moment.  
“Are you Nikolai?”  
“Yes…” he responded, giving Isaac a curious look, “who’s asking?”  
“My name’s Isaac, and I’m looking for my brothers,” he offered, quickly searching through his phone, “they stopped in here the night before last while you were working. Do you recognise them?”  
He held up the phone with the photo to let Nikolai see it. He studied it for a moment – Rick staring at him the whole time – before nodding his head.  
“Yeah, I remember them,” he said, making Isaac’s heart leap into his throat, “they came in just as we were closing. They bought up what we had left in stock. I’m sure we still have the receipt somewhere if you’d like…?”  
“Anything would help,” Isaac shrugged as Nikolai stepped aside and began going through a drawer.  
Rick had frowned, and pulled out his own cell phone to start fiddling with.  
“Is there anything you could tell us about when they left?” Isaac asked hopefully, “were they with anyone? Was their car stolen maybe?”  
“I couldn’t say,” Nikolai shook his head, “oh! Here it is.”  
He returned to the counter with the receipt and handed it to Isaac. Isaac quickly looked down it, registering that it was indeed paid for with Taylor’s card, and the time had been just before 6pm.  
“Thanks,” he nodded, “look, can I give you my phone number? In case you remember anything?”  
“Sure,” Nikolai shrugged, “but I don’t know what else I could tell you.”  
Isaac ignored the last statement, grabbing a nearby pen and writing his name and number on the back of one of the store’s business cards. Once done, he handed it over.  
“Thanks for all your help,” Isaac offered him a smile, before turning to leave the store.  
Rick gave the owner another glance before following him out.  
“That was weird,” he announced once they were on the sidewalk.  
“What?” Isaac asked as he headed for the car.  
“Guy was definitely hiding something,” Rick shook his head, “but I’ll know what it is in a moment.”  
Isaac gave him a curious look as he got in, then smirked when he saw him reach for his phone.  
“You hacked his phone?”  
“I prefer ‘twinned’,” Rick said as he waited for the program to load, “he’s making a call already.”  
“To who?” Isaac frowned, “and… wait, I thought he didn’t have a phone?”


	23. 23

“That’s what the Italian guy said,” Rick shook his head as he concentrated, “maybe he just didn’t tell them about it.”  
“That’s not suspicious at all,” Isaac kept his eye on the phone, not bothering to put his seatbelt on.  
Rick smirked as the phone registered the call connecting, and then turned up the speaker. Nikolai’s voice came through clearly, along with a quieter respondent.  
“We’ve got a problem.”  
“What, already? Are you shitting me?”  
“I don’t know how it happened, but the older brother tracked me down. It hasn’t even been two days!”  
Isaac shot Rick a panicked look, which he only returned.  
“Deal with it.”  
“Deal with it?”  
“This is your problem Nathan, not ours. We’re only doing you a favour, it’s your job to tie up the loose ends.”  
Rick’s head darted up as Isaac opened his door and got out. Registering what he was going to do he quickly dropped the phone and rushed out after him.  
“Ike wait! We should call Davison!” he insisted.  
“There’s no time!” Isaac hit back and he entered the store again.  
There was no sign of Nikolai.  
“Where is he?!” he demanded.  
The owner, taken aback by Isaac’s sudden return and now his mood, awkwardly pointed toward their back door. Isaac took off in a rush, hitting the door in a hurry and stepping outside. There was no sign of anybody.  
“You’re kidding me,” he rubbed his head as Rick caught up to him.  
“Background sounds indicated he was starting a car,” Rick offered, “Ike? We’ll find him. I’ll GPS the signal, and when Davison gets here…”  
“That was Nate, wasn’t it?” Isaac turned to him with wide eyes.  
“Apparently, yes,” Rick’s face lost colour.  
Isaac cringed, closing his eyes.  
“I can not believe that just happened,” he said breathlessly, “did I just screw up big time?!”  
“You can’t have known,” Rick assured him, “but come on. The faster we call Davison and get on his trail, the less distance he has between us. We’ll find him, I promise.”  
After Isaac took a moment to get himself back together, Rick led him back to the car. The call on his phone had ended, so he grabbed it and used it to call the sergeant.  
“Davis? Hey, it’s Astley. Listen… we have some news, and it’s not all good. You’d better get down here to the butcher store.”  
Isaac listened quietly as Rick gave Davison the details and how they knew them, before absently pulling out his own phone and Googling for a photo of Nathan Devereux. He couldn’t help but feel nauseas when he registered that it was definitely the man he’d just spoken to.  
“See you soon,” Rick promised before hanging up, “in the meantime…”  
“What are you doing?” Isaac asked, barely keeping a hold on his emotions.  
“I’m going to see what else I can get from this phone before he either turns it off or dumps it,” Rick responded, “fingers crossed.”


	24. 24

Covering his eyes with his hand as he leant his elbow against the window, Isaac was taking deep breaths to try and calm himself down already.  
“I can’t believe I let that happen,” he said softly.  
“You’re not psychic, Ike. How were you supposed to know?”  
“I should have at least checked what the guy looked like,” Isaac insisted.  
“You never saw him face to face. In fact I believe that’s the reason that you’re even still here and able to look for your brothers,” Rick pointed out, “and photos are always different to real life. Especially mug shots. I should know. How were you supposed to figure out that the butcher’s assistant was a wanted criminal?”  
“The fact that he was the last person to see them was probably a big hint,” Isaac said sarcastically.  
He looked up as they saw Davison’s patrol car turn into the street, just turning off their lights which they’d obviously used to get there faster.  
“Oh no…” Rick said suddenly.  
“What?” Isaac’s eyes shot to him.  
Rick quickly turned the phone’s screen off.  
“You don’t want to see that,” he gulped slightly, soon seeing for himself that Davison had arrived.  
“See what?” Isaac frowned as Rick got out of the car.  
He quickly followed him as Davison pulled up behind them.  
“Rick, what is it?! I think I have a right to know!”  
Rick went straight to Davison’s window before the sergeant could even turn the car off.  
“I wired his cell phone before he left,” he brushed over quickly.  
“You did what?” Davison’s eyebrows rose.  
“I know it’s not exactly legal, but I picked up that the guy was covering for something,” Rick shook his head, “anyway after the tap and hearing the phone call I started going through the phone’s files. I just found this. It was sent as a picture message sometime in the early hours of yesterday morning.”  
Davison took the phone from him, and Isaac couldn’t help but see his face lose a little colour.  
“Rick, I swear. If you don’t tell me what’s going on…” Isaac looked like he was about to start throwing punches.  
Davison handed the phone to his officer as Rick ignored Isaac before picking up his radio.  
“Mike this is Davison,” he called, “we need a court order to obtain the CCTV footage from the butcher on Seventeenth. And we need it now. Fax it through once you get it.”  
Isaac had rushed around to the other side of the car, knowing the officer now had the phone. Rick quickly followed him and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back from the car.  
“Calm down,” he insisted, grabbing him by the shoulders and looking him in the eye.  
“Tell me what it is,” Isaac shook his head.  
“It’s a photo,” Rick said carefully, “of Taylor.”  
“I need to see!” Isaac tried to push him off, but Rick had a firm grip on him.  
“Not before you calm down,” Rick insisted.  
“Is he even alive?!” Isaac asked incredulously.  
“He’s alive,” Rick confirmed, “or he was at the time the photo was taken.”  
He looked over as the officer stepped out of the patrol car, handing him back his phone. Rick gave Isaac a cautious look, making sure he was calm enough, before handing it to him. But it didn’t matter how calm Isaac could have been, the moment he saw it he began hyperventilating.


	25. 25

Taylor and Zac had been getting some more sleep when they were suddenly awoken by the door being opened and a torchlight shining in Taylor’s face.  
“Get up 352,” came the order.  
Taylor grimaced as he struggled to roll onto his side, Zac sitting up slightly to watch what would happen. Taylor made it onto his knees before rough hands pulled him to his feet and unlocked the padlock holding him to the main chain.  
“What’s going on?” he squinted, receiving yet another hit across the jaw for his efforts.  
Zac flinched as Taylor was hit, wishing he was in a position to do something about it. He watched as his brother was half dragged from the room and whispered a quiet prayer for him as the door was locked once again.  
Taylor was pulled down the corridor, barely registering that he was passing doors very similar to the one he’d come from. It made him wonder exactly how many people they had down there.  
When they had almost made it to the end he was pushed through a door to his left. The room was again mostly bare, lit by multiple fluorescents, and contained a single chair and table. The table held a box that looked suspiciously like the one that had been in the van that had picked them up, and it set Taylor’s nerves on edge from the start.  
One of the two men who’d fetched him walked in to greet the man who’d been waiting there, while the second closed the door behind them and forced Taylor down onto his knees on the floor.  
“Ready to begin?” he asked.  
“Yes,” the man who’d been waiting confirmed as he pulled on a pair of gloves, “this one needs to be moved quickly. No time to lose.”  
Taylor was about to ask what was going on again, before catching a look from one of them and closing his mouth again. The one who’d caught his eye smirked.  
The two who’d brought him in took a step back and pulled up positions in front of the door, in emphasis that Taylor wasn’t leaving anytime soon. Taylor’s eyes followed them before being pulled back to the much older man as he spoke.  
“Your friend Nathaniel has graciously offered you a position in our program,” he began in an authoritative tone, “you can repay him by fulfilling your obedience training with similar grace.”  
Taylor closed his eyes for a moment as it registered that the training Nate had spoken about was what was about to happen to him. He opened them again in time to see him reach into the box and pull out some black cuffs adorned with silver rings. It took a lot of self-control for Taylor to not simply stand up and back off.  
His eyes never blinked as he watched the man come over to him and begin to fasten them to each of his wrists just below where the chains sat. Once they were on, the man looked him in the eye.  
“Now. I’m about to remove the chains,” he said flatly, “but you are not to move from that position. Understand?”  
Taylor nodded, already glad for the prospect of stretching his arms out, “yes Sir.”  
As the man used a produced key to unlock them, he continued talking in a calm manner.  
“In order to get introductions out of the way, you’ll simply be known as your entrant number when you must be referred to. You will only know me as ‘Master’. Not by Sir, and not by my name. Do you understand?”  
Taylor nodded, his nerves clearly beginning to show.  
“When I ask you a question, you will respond verbally,” the man went on, “do you understand?”


	26. 26

“Yes I understand,” Taylor said softly, cringing a little as the chains came off for the first time in days.  
As the man returned to the table with them he carefully bent his arms across his chest, leaning forward a little into the alien movement. He took a deep breath before rolling his shoulders back, hissing a little from the stiffness. Taylor looked up only when he heard him coming back.  
“Stay leaning forward,” he instructed.  
Taylor did so, before flinching backward when he saw what he was about to do. He immediately heard one of the men behind him step forward and froze in his movement.  
“Good boy,” the ‘master’ said gently when he saw him stop.  
Taylor watched him wide-eyed as he slid the black collar around his neck, and then pulled his head forward to fasten it at the back. When that was done, he stood up and looked down on him.  
“It will itch at first, but you’ll have plenty of time to get used to it,” the man said calmly.  
Taylor squeezed his eyes shut, working to keep his breathing under control. He didn’t want to freak out already when they’d barely even started.  
“The training program will run for approximately a month. A short one, in your case, but a lot more intense,” the man sounded almost regretful, “toward the end you’ll be spending some time in my quarters and you’ll be expected to take up some menial tasks.”  
Taylor’s eyes shot up as he registered what he’d said.  
“A lot more comfortable than your current arrangements, I can assure you. However it will have to be earned.”  
“How?” it took Taylor a moment to work up the courage to ask.  
He was rewarded with a punch from the man behind him, before he stepped back again.  
“Your very first lesson will be in audio response,” the master went on as if nothing had happened as Taylor once again held his face, blinking rapidly.  
He could feel another bruise layering onto the ones he already had.  
“One of the most basic instincts you will learn is to only speak when you are asked a question. To ask questions yourself is no longer warranted. You are not in the ‘need to know’. If you do need to know something, you must trust that you will be told. Do you understand?”  
“Yes,” Taylor said softly.  
“You must also get used to using the terms ‘Master’ and ‘Mistress’. I’d like to hear you address me in your responses. Do you understand?”  
Taylor gulped, fighting an internal battle with himself.  
“Do you understand?” there was an underlying warning tone as his voice lowered.  
“Yes Master,” Taylor threw out quickly, hoping he’d feel better once he’d gotten it over with.  
He didn’t.  
“Good,” the man nodded, watching as Taylor closed his eyes again as he tried to make sense of the emotional trauma he was experiencing.  
He made his way over to the chair and sat down, pulling a book and pen toward him.  
“Come and sit here,” he indicated the floor in front of him.  
Taylor opened his eyes in time to see what he expected, before making to stand up.  
“You don’t need to stand,” the man put his hand up without even looking in his direction, “you can get there by crawling.”  
Taylor stopped himself, before glancing at the men behind him. Not taking a chance, he complied.  
“Good boy,” he said once again in a calm tone, making Taylor grimace.


	27. 27

“He just locked the doors. See that?!” Isaac pointed to where the burglar screens had been activated.  
He, Rick, Davison and the other officer were crowded around a small monitor as they watched the footage from the store’s security cameras the night Taylor and Zac had gone missing.  
“They haven’t realised yet,” Rick said absently as they watched Taylor finally look up.  
They saw him grab Zac’s arm and turn to the door, stopping in his tracks when he realised they were locked in. A conversation took place before Nate pulled the knives on them.  
“There’s really no audio?” Isaac gave Davison a glance.  
“No audio,” he confirmed.  
“Zac just went for his phone,” Rick pointed out, “that would by why they lost them.”  
“What’s he doing?” the officer squinted as Taylor stepped forward to the counter.  
“Phones and wallets,” Isaac slapped the desk, “that’s why they were found in the car.”  
They watched as Zac surrendered his as well, then moved off screen.  
“Other camera,” Davison realised, switching the footage.  
Once he had it going they could see footage from a camera set up by the back door looking down the hall toward the main store. Skipping to the correct time, they saw Taylor, Zac and Nate enter the hallway and stop short at the first door.  
“They’re not leaving?” Isaac frowned as Taylor opened the door and stepped back.  
“Looks like he put them in the freezer,” the officer looked to Davison.  
Isaac put his head in his hands as they disappeared from the camera’s view, Nate emerging on his own moments later with keys in his hand.  
“And those would be Taylor’s car keys,” Rick sighed, making Isaac look up again.  
“He must come back for them,” Davison assumed, skipping forward once Nate was off the screen.  
“This doesn’t answer the question of the receipt,” Isaac said suddenly, “he showed me that Taylor actually paid for the meat. But according to the footage, he didn’t get the chance.”  
Davison stopped what he was doing and changed back to the main camera. They watched as Nate returned to grab the phones and wallets, stopping to go through Taylor’s.  
“That explains it,” the officer pointed out as they watched him put the transaction through.  
“He really thought he was getting away with it clean,” Rick shook his head.  
“Over my dead body,” Isaac’s voice lowered.  
Rick gave him a pat on the back as Davison swapped the cameras back. Around 3am according to the timer, some black shadows suddenly appeared in the hallway.  
“That’s not Nate,” Isaac shook his head.  
“And there’s definitely more than two of them,” Rick added.  
They watched the dark figures make their way to the freezer, two of them going inside while the third stood watch at the door.  
“We won’t get any IDs from this, it’s too dark,” the officer grimaced.  
“I take it that was the plan,” Davison replied.  
They watched as Zac emerged first, wrapped in a blanket, soon followed by Taylor. The moment they went off screen the footage skipped ahead to the Italian owner opening the store.  
“That’s it? We can’t even see how they got away?” Isaac looked up.  
“There aren’t any cameras pointing outward,” the officer shook her head.  
“That doesn’t mean there aren’t any,” Davison said decidedly, “we just need to find them.”


	28. 28

“What is it that you want the most out of life?”  
Taylor frowned as the question caught him off guard, and he looked up as if to ask if the man was really asking him such a thing.  
“Don’t take too long in your responses.”  
Taylor struggled to think for a moment, becoming visually flustered as his mind raced.  
“I want…” he trailed off in uncertainty, “I want to see my kids grow up.”  
He had to close his eyes for a moment, trying to ignore the possibility that it might not happen.  
“And that’s a fair request from a father,” he surprised Taylor with his answer, making him open his eyes again.  
“But what we need to do now is to commit to a regime that changes your perspective.”  
Taylor gave him a curious look.  
“Take for example, the very way you began your reply. You began with ‘I want’.”  
Taylor blushed a little, knowing already where he was going. He held back from saying that it was what the man had asked him and he’d been responding in kind.  
“What we need to concentrate on, first and foremost, requires a shift in your perspective from what you want, as opposed to what your Master wants. In your case, your eventual Mistress.”  
Taylor ducked his head, keeping his eyes to the ground as he processed what the man wanted. The thought had crossed his mind many times to try and convince them as best he could that he would need as little ‘training’ as possible, but he already knew it was going to be a lot harder to fool them than he’d originally thought. And maybe he wouldn’t be able to.  
“You have a wedding ring.”  
A chill ran down Taylor’s spine as he realised it was more of a statement than a question. He subconsciously covered it with his other hand protectively.  
“I’d like you to take it off before we go any further.”  
Again subconsciously, Taylor immediately began shaking his head.  
“No?” the man’s voice was tinged with curiosity.  
Taylor had to force himself to stop as he started to panic about what might happen if he actually refused to do as they asked. The hits he could take. But Nate had implied far greater punishments.  
He hadn’t realised he’d paused so long until he heard footsteps behind him. Knowing there wasn’t going to be a way out of whatever was coming, he immediately went on guard and fell from his knees onto his side before scrambling back against the nearest wall.  
“Please, don’t,” he cried weakly as the men only changed direction in order to grab him by the shoulders and pull him back to where he’d been.  
He was soon on his knees again in the exact same position as the master stood from his chair.  
“The problem with wedding bands, you see…” he began callously, “is that they designate a sense of ownership already. You exchange them below your wedding vows to signify not only the marital bond that you share with one another, but that you also ‘belong’ to each other in a sense.”  
Taylor instinctively fought as the man to his left held his arm out and the master gently placed his hands over Taylor’s fist. By gently placing his fingers onto a nerve in the underside of Taylor’s wrist, Taylor couldn’t help but release his hand with a surprised cry.  
“Which is something we just can’t allow, I’m afraid,” he said, “you are no longer hers.”  
Taylor couldn’t help but yell as he heard the sickening crack signalling the breakage of his finger. Once the man had his wedding ring off, he signalled for the men to let Taylor go.


	29. 29

Zac sat up when he saw them bringing his brother back. After spending the last couple of hours debating with himself whether he’d ever see him again, it was somewhat of a surprise that he would.  
He watched as they chained his wrists in the same position before pushing him to the ground and turning to leave. He couldn’t help but notice his brother shaking.  
Waiting until the men had left, he inched forward as far as he could.  
“Tay?” he asked carefully.  
Taylor jumped when he heard his voice, as if forgetting that he’d been there.  
“Zac?” he looked over his shoulder, before quickly rubbing his eyes and turning to his brother.  
Zac took note of the new cuffs on his wrists that actually gave his brother more movement, and of course the new addition to his neck…  
“What happened?” he dared to ask.  
Taylor seemed to be trying to catch his breath before he could answer.  
“Training,” was all he got out when he could.  
“Training?” Zac pulled a face, before noticing how Taylor was precariously holding his left hand.  
“What happened to your hand?”  
Taylor gulped, still panting a little and looking like he was about to have a panic attack.  
“My wedding ring,” he finally got out, tears welling in his eyes, “they broke my finger and took my wedding ring.”  
Zac’s hands immediately went to his throat where his own wedding ring sat, eyeing off the door as he did so as if to make sure no one had seen what he’d done.  
“He said I didn’t belong to her anymore. Oh my God,” Taylor left his broken hand in his lap and used the other to cover his eyes as he finally let the fear overwhelm him.  
Zac pulled on his chains in an effort to get closer to him, but it was pointless.  
“Tay? Tay, come on man. Don’t lose it on me,” he shook his head, “they’re screwing with your head. It’s their job!”  
Taylor took in a shaky breath as he looked up at the door, trying to avoid eye contact with Zac while he cried.  
“I’m trying,” he said finally, his voice cracking, “but this was just day one.”  
“This is just what Nate wants, okay?” Zac tried to reason with him, “he wants you to be a nervous wreck just so that he can torture you for whatever demented reason he’s work out in his head.”  
“This isn’t about Nate any more, it’s bigger than him,” Taylor shook his head before wiping his eyes again, “this is about losing our lives without actually dying. And I didn’t realise until earlier that it’s actually already happened and now we’re just living it.”  
“No, Tay, it hasn’t happened. And it’s not going to happen,” Zac insisted, getting a little worked up himself, “not as long as you don’t let it.”  
Taylor just shook his head, not wanting to argue but not agreeing with him all the same.  
“He treated me like a dog, Zac,” he said suddenly, “down to crawling to him on all fours. And I had to refer to him as ‘Master’. I’m even wearing a freaking collar.”  
“Look, I get that this is supposed to make you feel like crap, okay?” Zac insisted, trying to catch his eyes, “but it’s what’s in here that matters.”  
When Taylor finally gave him a glance, he tapped his head.  
“No one can make you change your own mind, Tay. You have to do that yourself,” he insisted.


	30. 30

The next morning, Isaac awoke to the sound of his cell phone vibrating on the dresser. As if to prove that his instincts were back on overdrive, he had the phone to his ear in seconds.  
“Yeah?” he blinked tiredly.  
“Hey Isaac, it’s Davison,” the voice came through, “just wanted to give you an update. We’ve pulled court orders for two of the buildings so far that are across the street from the butcher’s, but none of the rear alley ones. We’re heading over to pick up the footage this morning and we’ll be bringing it all back to the department for viewing.”  
Isaac groaned, knowing he wouldn’t be able to see it once it crossed the station lines.  
“We’re hoping in the meantime that some of the rear footage will come through for us. If we come up with anything from it we’ll let you know. Otherwise I’ll call again this afternoon when I know more.”  
“Thanks Davison,” Isaac said before they said their goodbyes.  
Once he’d hung up, he called Rick straight away.  
“Davison call you?” was the answer.  
“Yeah… did he call you first?”  
“Nope, just figured that was why you were calling. What’d he say?”  
“They’re very slowly getting the warrants they need,” Isaac sighed, “they have two so far, but they’re for buildings across the street and not behind. So that depends on what direction they went as to whether we’ll actually see anything. They’re heading over to get the footage now and then taking it back to the station to watch.”  
“Bummer.”  
“Yeah. He’s hoping they’ll get some more warrants through before the morning’s out though. Preferably for the alley.”  
“That’s what we need,” Rick stated the obvious, “otherwise we won’t even know what kind of vehicle they’re in. And they had to at least be in some kind of car or van or truck.”  
“Right,” Isaac rubbed his eyes tiredly.  
“So what’s the plan?”  
“I don’t know,” Isaac shook his head, “I mean… if it all comes together, and we do get this footage, we can pretty much follow them to wherever they took them, right?”  
“Theoretically, all the way,” Rick replied, “traffic cams, satellites, there’s always a way. If we can work out what they were in, we should be able to follow it to wherever they are. The bitch is going to be the time it takes to get all the footage we need, not to mention the permissions to get it.”  
“Nothing’s ever easy,” Isaac smirked.  
“Of course not,” Rick agreed, “but it’s a trail, right?”  
“It’s the only thing letting me get any sleep,” Isaac admitted.  
“Do you need anything?” Rick sounded a little worried.  
“I need my brothers back,” Isaac said simply.  
“Yeah, well… we’ll find them. I know we will. And Nate is definitely going down for it this time.”  
“I admire your confidence,” Isaac couldn’t help but smile.  
“Just stating facts. Hey I’ve got to get the kids off to school, you’ll call me if anything changes right?”  
“Will do,” Isaac promised.  
“Thanks Isaac. And good luck.”  
“Thanks Rick.”


	31. 31

After they’d woken up sometime the following morning, Zac had assumed, Taylor seemed to mostly be back to himself. Their cell had been ‘cleaned out’ sometime the night before which involved the removal of the body from the floor and a quick hose down to get rid of the bloodstains. The sickening smell lingered in the air for quite some time before dissipating throughout the night.  
It wasn’t long after they’d woken that a couple of men appeared in the doorway, one of them holding a flashlight and the other with his arms full.  
When the door was opened they’d both looked up, Taylor in time to catch something that was thrown to him. When he realised what it was he waited only long enough to make sure that Zac received one as well before taking off the bottle cap and downing the water thirstily.  
Two more were thrown into the darkness to their left, and as Taylor stopped to take a breath he caught a glimpse of the flashlight beam hitting one of the other occupants. He found himself taken aback at the sight of him, before realising he probably looked just as dirty and ragged himself. Zac sure did.  
As he made a signal for Zac to slow down with his own water, he wondered for a moment why the men were hanging around in there before he was thrown something else. It was a similar bread roll to the one he’d gotten for Zac a couple of days earlier. Making sure Zac also got one first, he dug in.  
“We’ll be back for you,” Taylor jumped as the light shone in his face before they left the room again.  
Zac waited until they’d walked away before he said anything.  
“That doesn’t sound good,” he offered between taking bites.  
“It never is,” Taylor reasoned.  
“Tay?”  
Taylor immediately looked across at him, not liking his tone.  
“Not to bring the mood down or anything,” Zac attempted a joke, “but I’m running out of meds.”  
“How many do you have left?” Taylor frowned.  
“Two days’ worth maybe? I could stretch it to three, but because we can’t see any daylight I’ve just been guessing the hours.”  
Taylor nodded, then paused thoughtfully.  
“Do they know about them?” he asked.  
“I may have mentioned it,” Zac shrugged, “they didn’t seem overly concerned.”  
Taylor’s eyes lowered to Zac’s chains, and he hated to admit to himself that they probably hadn’t expected his brother to last this long.  
He just hoped it was a test that he’d passed.  
“I’ll see if I can do anything,” Taylor offered, “but I don’t know how much leeway we have.”  
“Try none?” Zac suggested with a smirk.  
Taylor shrugged and continued eating, not knowing how much time he’d have before the men came back for him.  
It wasn’t long. He quickly managed to throw Zac his bottle of water with a bit left over in it so that it could be hidden behind him as the men came in and began to unlock his wrists.  
“Please, I’m really sorry to bother you,” Taylor began quickly and bracing himself for any punches he might receive for his efforts, “but my brother is running out of medication. He needs it or he could get an infection. Please, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t serious!”  
“Is that right?” one of them replied smugly as they wrenched Taylor to his feet.


	32. 32

“It’s true. He had a lung transplant seven years ago,” Taylor assured, not yet sure what reaction he was getting.  
A flashlight shone in Zac’s eyes, making him squint.  
“Do you have any on you?” the man asked.  
“Yeah,” he admitted, reaching into the pocket of his jeans where he kept them.  
The man stepped forward and took them from him as Taylor watched on worriedly.  
“Have you taken any yet today?”  
“Not yet,” Zac shook his head.  
The man used the flashlight to look at the details on the bottle, before opening it and tipping the contents into his hand. Four pills came out and he replaced two of them.  
“Keep these and we’ll see what we can do,” he handed the two he’d taken out back to Zac.  
Taylor dared not look too hopeful, but he gave Zac what he hoped was a reassuring look. Zac gave him a nod of thanks before he was pulled out of the room again.  
The man who’d taken the bottle from Zac escorted them back to the training room, only waiting while Taylor was taken in before leaving again. Taylor watched as the door was closed behind him before turning to face the ‘master’ again. And almost jumping out of his skin.  
“Taylor,” Nate nodded from behind the table.  
“What did I tell you?” the master gave him a pointed look.  
“Sorry. ‘352’,” Nate couldn’t help but smirk.  
“Kneel,” the master ordered, indicating a spot on the floor.  
Taylor’s eyes didn’t leave Nate, but he stepped over to the spot and knelt obediently. The master snapped his fingers, garnering Taylor’s attention.  
“Nathaniel would like to speak with you,” he kept his eyes locked on Taylor’s as if daring him to look away, “I would like you to be on your best behaviour while I leave the room. Do you understand?”  
Taylor swallowed nervously, but nodded.  
“I can’t hear you.”  
“Yes, Master,” Taylor closed his eyes for a moment.  
He hung his head as the man stepped past him, and he and Taylor’s escort closed the door on their way out. Taylor’s eyes followed Nate’s shoes as he stepped up to the table and curiously looked through the box that sat there.  
“So I spoke to your brother yesterday,” he began, immediately making Taylor look up, “the older one, not the one we have here.”  
“Ike?” Taylor frowned, “…how? Why?”  
“You know, I’ve been given permission to ‘punish’ you for speaking out of turn,” Nate mused, picking up what Taylor knew was a taser.  
He flushed red as he knew that he’d both done it, and that Nate had previously mentioned his longing to see one used on him.  
“I went back to work at the butcher store. He came in asking questions about the two of you,” Nate looked the gun over thoughtfully, “he must have traced your phones or something. Never mind.”  
He looked up and made eye contact with Taylor.  
“Funny enough, he didn’t even recognise me. We had a nice chat.”  
“Please, please don’t hurt him,” Taylor shook his head desperately.  
Nate suddenly aimed the gun and shot Taylor directly in the chest.


	33. 33

Taylor waited until he was sure the convulsing had stopped before he took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again he saw Nate standing over him, fingers poised over the trigger.  
“Not a lot of fight left in you, is there?” he tilted his head, “you’re coming along well then.”  
Taylor held back the urge to scream at him, knowing another shock was going to come his way regardless. A moment later, it hit him. He barely made out Nate’s laugh through the pain.  
As he bent down to remove the pins, Taylor tried to catch his breath again. Once they were gone his hands flew to his chest and he rolled onto his side and coughed.  
“So how’s your training coming along then?” Nate asked as he walked back to the table, as if he expected Taylor to answer him straight away.  
Taylor barely managed to look up in his direction, still shaking slightly as the electricity slowly dissipated from his system.  
“Haven’t learnt to answer immediately yet, I see…”  
Taylor opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. Instead he grunted as he struggled to turn over onto his stomach, pushing himself up onto his hands and knees.  
“Stay down,” Nate instructed, sinking a foot into Taylor’s back and forcing him down onto his stomach.  
His arms awkwardly stretched out in front, the cuffs holding his wrists tight. Keeping his foot in place Nate reached down and grabbed the back of Taylor’s collar. Taylor immediately scrambled to try and reach the front of it to pull it back down as he choked.  
“I’m pretty sure you’re aware that if I wanted to ‘hurt’ Isaac, there’d be nothing you could do to stop me,” Nate’s words cut into him like a knife, “same goes for your younger brother, of course. I’m surprised he’s still alive today as it is.”  
He finally let the collar go and Taylor fell flat again as he tried to catch his breath. When Nate finally removed his foot he began crawling forward in an effort to get away. When he heard Nate return to the table he picked up speed and picked himself up so that he was sitting back against a wall. His eyes locked onto Nate again as he continued to cough.  
“But I guess hope is about all you have left now, isn’t it?” Nate smirked.  
“It’s something they’ll never take away,” Taylor couldn’t help himself, but his voice was distant.  
“We’ll soon see about that,” Nate said absently, making Taylor only slightly relieved that he didn’t seem phased by him talking back.  
He watched as Nate rummaged through the box, the metallic clinks only adding to his nerves. What he pulled out next made Taylor shiver, and even mildly relieved when the door opened again. He looked up to see the master return to the room.  
“Any problems?” he directed his question to Nate.  
“Just vocally,” Nate held up the lockable ball gag, “maybe we should demonstrate how easy it really is to stay silent for a generous amount of time?”  
Taylor’s eyes darted between them.  
“I don’t see why not,” the master said casually before directing his next statement at Taylor, “here.”  
Taylor looked to where he’d pointed, back in his usual kneeling spot. Taylor glanced at Nate as he worked himself up to complying, before whispering a quiet prayer to himself and crawling over to it.  
Once he was there Nate grabbed his hair as the master fitted the gag as comfortably as he could.  
“Good boy,” he gave him a derogatory pat on the head as he stood again.


	34. 34

Zac looked up as he heard a figure come to stand in the doorway. It was an unusual move, as usually anyone coming past either came to the door with purpose or simply continued on.  
He saw the person squinting through the bars, before he shivered as he recognised the face.  
Nate.  
Not a second later Nate had produced a flashlight and shone it through the door, landing on Zac and temporarily blinding him.  
“That one,” he heard him say as he cringed, covering his eyes.  
He heard the door open and footsteps entering. They made their way over to him and he lowered his hands just in time to see one of the men who’d fetched Taylor earlier come out with a key to the chains on Zac’s wrists. His heart leapt into his throat as he registered what was happening, and obediently held his arms out.  
Once he was detached from the main chain that ran along the wall, he was pulled to his feet. He stumbled a bit at first not having used his legs in days, but managed to walk himself out of the room. Once the door was locked again he was led down the hall in the opposite direction to which Taylor had gone. There was already no sign that Nate had even been there.  
They soon hit a stairwell which they took upward, leading into a corridor of doors secured with heavy bolts. They came to door that had been left open and Zac was shoved inside. He quickly looked around, wondering what he was in for, before he was grabbed by the shoulders and led to the centre of the room. Following the eye line of his escort he soon looked to the ceiling and saw the hook.  
“You’ve gotta be kidding,” he said flatly.  
The man with him landed him a familiar blow across the jaw to what Taylor had been receiving before reaching up to grab the hook. Once Zac had had a chance to recover he took his wrists and secured them over his head. Zac cringed as he felt the unnatural pull on his arms, before he felt the hook being raised a little. A moment later he was well and truly stuck on his tip toes. His escort gave him a once over before leaving the room, and Zac heard the bolt move into place.  
He immediately looked up to try and see how the chains were secured above his head, but he couldn’t see past his arms.  
By the time his arms had a chance to get settled into their new positions, the door opened again.  
“And this would be the other one you were asking about,” a man in a grey suit said as he opened the door for a slightly shorter woman to walk through, “the one with some health issues.”  
“Have they been resolved?” Zac immediately noted the thick Mexican accent.  
“It appears to be an ongoing issue,” the man informed her regretfully, coming to stand next to her while checking his clipboard, “he appears to have had a lung transplanted sometime in the past, and is on medication for the foreseeable future. Would that be a problem?”  
Zac’s eyes darted between the two, but he stayed silent.  
“I don’t see why,” she regarded Zac curiously, “are you sure they’re brothers?”  
Zac clenched his teeth at the reference to Taylor, realising now who she actually was.  
“Pretty sure. He was also a musician, this one a drummer. Of course also from a large family, and this one is a father of two… and he did pass all of his medicals otherwise.”  
Zac also picked up on the use of the word ‘was’.  
“Can he talk?” she frowned suddenly, making Zac give her an odd look.  
“He is able,” the man looked up expectantly.


	35. 35

The second Taylor was out of the room his hands flew to the gag, trying to tell just how it was secured.  
“Don’t even bother, it’s staying. Master’s orders,” his escort informed him as he grabbed his arm and led him back down the hall.  
Taylor managed to keep himself together just enough to not panic over it as he was returned to the main cell. Once he was led inside and saw that Zac was missing however, panic is definitely what Taylor felt rising in his chest.  
His escort offered him no explanation as he secured his wrists to the main chain and left him in the dark with the cell’s two other occupants again. Taylor’s hands shot to the gag once more, desperately trying to find a way to get it off.

*

“I just got punched in the face for talking, so excuse my silence. It isn’t meant to be rude,” Zac said pointedly as he looked to the woman before him.  
She couldn’t stop a small smile from appearing on her face.  
“Of course he won’t come with the attitude,” the man assured her.  
Zac just scowled.  
“How long until he will be ready?” she asked, turning to the businessman.  
“This one? Probably two to three months.”  
Zac’s eyebrows rose as the woman frowned.  
“I was told the other one would be ready in weeks.”  
“I believe I said there was a rush on him?” the man reminded her, “he was pushed through the system and is already going through the training course at positive speed. There’s no need to rush this one. You’ll also need to secure him first.”  
Zac rolled his eyes and leant his head back.  
“Secure… him?”  
“Yes, I believe…” the man looked at his clipboard, “we have another bidder already.”  
Zac looked up at that.  
The woman looked Zac over again, and then turned to leave the room.  
“We’ll see about that.”  
The man followed her out, replacing the bolt in the door as they left.

*

“Hello?” Isaac had snatched his phone the moment it rang.  
“Isaac, it’s Davison. Sorry I haven’t called earlier.”  
“That’s okay, just tell me you have something,” Isaac rubbed his eyes.  
“We may have something. The warrants finally came through for two of the cameras in the alley. We should have the video tomorrow morning, and then we’ll see what happened to them. Maybe get a hint of where they were headed.”  
“You’re going to traffic cams next, right?” Isaac made sure.  
“We will follow them wherever they go. We already have the co-operation of the Oklahoma Department of Transport. Once we have something to chase, we will chase it.”  
“Great,” Isaac sighed, “I just wish it wasn’t taking so long.”  
“Part of the job I’m afraid. I’ll call you as soon as we view them in the morning.”  
“Thanks Davison.”


	36. 36

Taylor’s head shot up as he heard movement in the hall. When he saw that it was Zac returning, a wave of relief washed over him.  
Zac was brought in and chained back into the same position, his escort giving his head a shove into the wall before he took his leave. Zac hissed through his teeth and put his hands to his head. Once the footsteps had faded away he let loose.  
“Oww! Son of a bitch!”  
Taylor grunted to himself, before leaning forward and brushing the dirt around on the floor with his hands.  
Zac looked up curiously at what he was doing before spotting his predicament.  
“Damn. And I thought it was my turn to have a bad day.”  
Taylor finished what he was doing and then sat to the side a little so that what little light was coming through the door made it to the floor. Then he began writing in the dirt.  
“This’ll be fun,” Zac sat forward a little, wincing as his arms returned to their dormant state.  
He watched as Taylor wrote ‘are you ok?’  
“Fine,” Zac nodded, “I think I met that woman you were talking about though. She seemed interested, but apparently I have another bidder.”  
Taylor frowned, then wrote ‘bidder?’  
“Yeah,” Zac shook his head, “turns out I’m wanted. Go me. Now what happened to you?”  
Taylor hesitated, brushing the dirt over again. When he figured out what to write, he simply put ‘Nate’.  
“I saw him,” Zac nodded, “he stopped at the door and shone a light in at me before I got taken out. Thought I was going to have a run in with him myself but he disappeared. Did he do this to you?”  
Taylor waved his hand a little before writing the word ‘taser’. Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“No kidding,” he bit his lip.  
Taylor brushed the dirt out again and sat back a little.  
“So. Charades,” Zac rolled his eyes.  
Taylor began massaging his jaw, it starting to hurt already from being forced open.  
“How was your training session?” Zac asked.  
Taylor paused thoughtfully, then wrote ‘quiet’. Zac chuckled.  
“I’ll bet,” he mused, “did you do something? Or was he just being an ass?”  
Taylor grunted a little and again wrote ‘Nate’. Zac nodded knowingly.  
“Fair enough,” he said, before looking behind him.  
He felt around in the dark for a moment before coming up with the water bottle Taylor had left with him. He carefully used it to take one of the two pills he had left before returning it to its hiding spot.  
“Do they realise you won’t be able to eat anything either?” he asked.  
Taylor just nodded, hanging his head.  
After another moment Zac slowly began to lay himself down, and when Taylor saw what he was doing he settled himself down too. As he lay on his back he breathed heavily for a while as he tried to get used to the gag being there, but eventually he rolled onto his side and found that it helped at least a little.  
“You definitely can’t get it off?” Zac asked when he saw that he was struggling with it.  
Taylor put a hand to his head, finding the lock, and pointed it out.  
“Bummer,” Zac sighed, not knowing what else to say or do.


	37. 37

The following day Zac looked up to see Taylor returning from his training session minus the gag and with his broken finger bandaged up into a splint. Once he’d been returned to his usual position, the man who’d brought him in pulled something from a pocket.  
“Here,” he threw it to Zac.  
Zac’s eyes widened when he realised what it was.  
“Thanks,” he frowned slightly, more than a little curious.  
Taylor turned to him as the man walked out, and Zac held up the bottle so that he could see. Once they were clear of earshot Taylor shook his head.  
“I wasn’t expecting that.”  
“You and me both,” Zac opened it to check the contents, “how’s the jaw?”  
“Still hurts,” Taylor rubbed it absently, “it cramped up so many times last night.”  
“So I heard.”  
Taylor gave him an embarrassed glance.  
“Sorry.”  
“I’ll live.”  
Taylor bit his lip at Zac’s choice of words.  
“Zac…” he began cautiously, “I think we need to…”  
“Need to what?” Zac frowned as Taylor couldn’t finish what he was about to say.  
Taylor took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts.  
“There’s a distinct possibility – almost a certainty in fact – that one day one of us is going to leave this room and not come back.”  
“Preferably both of us at the same time, on our way home,” Zac interjected.  
“You know what I mean,” Taylor shook his head, “I think we should at least think about… you know, saying something?”  
Zac paused as he caught onto where his brother was going.  
“I’m not saying goodbye to you Tay,” he frowned, “not now, not ever.”  
“Zac…”  
“No,” he said forcefully, “look, I was bleeding to death in the middle of the woods and you didn’t say it to me then. So I’m not going to accept it now. I’m the first to admit that our current situation isn’t exactly all that reassuring, but it’s not exactly life threatening either. At least not immediately.”  
“But for how much longer?” Taylor said with genuine concern.  
“You don’t think Ike’s on the case?” Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“Of course I do, and I know he is,” Taylor assured, “but Zac, look at where we are. This isn’t exactly a spur of the moment operation. We aren’t just lost in the middle of nowhere somewhere, this is something that has obviously been established for a long time. I mean, over three hundred people have been through here? And no one found any of them?”  
“They also didn’t have Isaac Hanson looking for them,” Zac offered him a smile.

*

Isaac was pacing in Rick’s kitchen when his phone rang again.  
“Davison? Give me some good news.”  
“Your wish is my command,” his voice came down the line, “we’ve finally finished viewing the alley footage. Details are sketchy, and it was definitely dark, but we found their van. We’re hitting the traffic cam trail tonight.”


	38. 38

As the days went by in the dark and dank cell, Zac truly lost track of how long they’d been there. Initially he counted the amount of times Taylor was pulled out for his ‘training’ sessions, but when his sleep patterns made him lose track of his brother’s comings and goings he was no longer able to use them as a guide.  
Taylor began talking less and less with the more sessions that he went to. Zac had occasionally tried to pry the process out of him, but it was getting too hard for Taylor to explain and he eventually gave up on that too. He knew there was a lot going on in Taylor’s head though, as quiet as he could be about it.

*

“I don’t get it,” Isaac was fuming as he spoke on the phone once again, “why is it taking so long?! I thought we had a full ride!”  
“So did we,” Davison had regret in his voice, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have gotten your hopes up. The Texan DOT just haven’t been as helpful as we would have liked.”  
“What’s their problem?” Isaac scowled, “do they know what the situation is? If I need to go down there myself, I will. It’s been almost two freaking weeks!”  
“It’s just red tape, Isaac,” Davison sighed with just as much frustration, “my hope is that they’ll come through for us in the next twenty four hours and we can pick up right where we left off at the border. Unfortunately what this means for us is that it’s not just a case for the Oklahoma Power Rangers anymore, it’s becoming a national incident.”  
Isaac rubbed his head and closed his eyes.  
“Is that going to be a problem?” he asked.  
“I’ll let you know when I do,” Davison promised.  
Isaac hesitated, wondering if he should tell Davison what he was about to.  
“Davison?”  
“Yes Isaac?”  
“I’m going to Dallas.”  
“I’m surprised you waited this long,” Davison couldn’t hide his amusement.  
“So are a few other people,” Isaac glanced over his shoulder.  
“Rick going with you?”  
“I haven’t asked yet.”  
“Make sure you give him a chance, he’s going stir crazy.”  
“Pretty sure I have him beat in that respect,” Isaac insisted, “should I call you when I get there?”  
“I have to go into a meeting this afternoon about the whole thing. I’ll call you when I get out, because I’m sure you’ll be there by then.”  
“What’s the meeting about?” Isaac’s eyes darted.  
“I believe they’re setting up a task force,” Davison sounded like he really shouldn’t be saying it, “as you know we’ve been after Nathan Devereux for a long time, and it seems like he has a vast support network behind him now… if this footage is anything to go by. It’s going to take more than a few city cops to bring him down this time. Especially if he has more hostages.”  
Isaac paused to take a deep breath.  
“Sounds intense.”  
“That’s one word for it. As I said, I’ll call you when I get out. Hopefully Texas will come through for us by then.”


	39. 39

“They came through?”  
“They came through. We’ve got agents following them down the highway as we speak. There’s a few dead spots between towns but once they hit civilisation – hopefully Dallas – we should be able to lock them down. How is Dallas anyway?”  
“So close and yet so far?” Isaac sighed, “but at least if I’m here I can feel as if I’m doing something, even if I’m not.”  
“Or you could just be ready to step in,” Davison pointed out, “in case something comes up.”  
“That’s probably a better way to look at it, yeah. So how long do you think it will take?”  
“Best guess, the better part of an hour. They’re being careful to make sure it’s the right van after all, and- what?”  
Isaac frowned as he heard some talking in the background, Rick giving him a curious look from the other motel bed.  
“Excuse me Isaac, I won’t be a moment.”  
“Okay,” Isaac nodded.  
“So what’s happening?” Rick asked as Isaac pulled the phone away from his ear and put it on speaker.  
“Texas came through with the traffic cams,” Isaac replied, “they’re following them now.”  
“Great!”  
“Isaac, are you there?”  
“Yeah we’re both here,” he responded, holding the phone out between he and Rick.  
“They lost them.”  
“What do you mean?” Isaac frowned the moment Rick said “how could they lose them already?”  
“No, this is actually a good thing. Somewhat,” Davison tried to curb the momentary panic, “we’ve lost them in a split between two highway patrol cameras. This means they stopped somewhere in the middle. Sorry Ike, but they went through Dallas… they’re not there. They must be out near Fort Worth somewhere.”  
“Then we’ll head over there now then,” Isaac looked to Rick for confirmation, who nodded.  
“Texas is going to send out some highway patrol units to scour the area in question, see how many places they could have pulled off. Unfortunately the satellite is sketchy on this area for the last couple of weeks because of cloud cover, so we’ll be working from the ground only.”  
“Of course it is,” Rick rolled his eyes.  
“The task force agents are already on their way to Dallas as we speak.”  
“Are you coming down?” Isaac raised his eyebrows.  
“It’s out of our jurisdiction,” Davison replied, “sorry. But we’ve got some pretty good guys on the case. One or two have promised to keep us in the loop. But try and stay out of their way all the same, yeah?”  
Rick gave Isaac a pointed look. He ignored it.  
“When will they reach Dallas?”  
“Within the next couple of hours. They’ll case Fort Worth first thing tomorrow and decide what they’re doing from there. The Texan patrols might come up with something by then, hopefully.”  
“We’re crossing our fingers. And everything else,” Rick sat back a little.  
“Thanks for the updates Davison. We’ll call you from Fort Worth,” Isaac promised.  
“Stay safe guys. We’re closing in.”


	40. 40

As Taylor was led into the training room for possibly the tenth day in a row, he automatically knelt in his assumed position. His escort closed the door behind him and remained outside the room, leaving him alone with the master.  
“I’d like you to come and sit at the table,” were the first words he spoke, “today I’ll be doing an evaluation of our progress.”  
Taylor gave him a quick glance, making sure he knew what he meant, before making his way to the chair and pulling himself up into it. His eyes immediately fell on a silver pistol set on the table in front of him.  
“Go ahead. Take it.”  
Taylor’s eyes shot up with a questioning look, seeing that the man was deadly serious. Not wanting to test him on what would happen if he didn’t take it as ordered, he slowly and carefully reached out for it and pulled it towards him.  
“Pick it up,” the man instructed, “I want you to get a good feel for it. Its weight, its texture…”  
Taylor did as instructed, trying not to let his mind encourage him to do something more with it than what the man asked.  
“Inside this gun, is a single bullet,” the man informed him, casually taking a seat on the edge of the table, “with your mind’s eye, I’d like you to focus on it.”  
Taylor gave him another curious glance, but tried to at least look like he was focusing regardless. It was hard to do.  
“Now I’d like you to remember something. Something from your old life,” he carried on with the calm and steady voice of a hypnotist, “it can even be multiple things. People, places, and experiences, that gave that life meaning. Anything that might still be circling your subconscious and causing negative connotations… emotions, such as sadness, loss, betrayal, and maybe even anger. Then I want you to visualise all of that energy and move it into the gun.”  
Taylor frowned, confused, but trying his best to do as he was told. He managed to keep the stray tears at bay as memories of home came to him because he just as soon pushed them away.  
“Are you done?”  
“Yes Master,” Taylor responded immediately.  
“Good. Now I’d like you to place your pointer finger on the trigger, and the barrel to the underside of your chin.”  
Taylor’s eyes shot up to him again, not believing his sincerity. When he got nothing from the expression on the man’s face, his hand shakily took its position on the gun.  
“Good boy,” the man said steadily, seeing him at least trying to comply, “now raise it. You can do it.”  
Taylor closed his eyes, trying to tell himself to just get it over with. It was only a lesson, he was sure. He obediently put the barrel to his chin and waited.  
“Now pull the trigger.”  
The words themselves were enough to send a shockwave through him so intense that he accidentally pulled the trigger without even thinking. When nothing happened he dropped the gun to the table.  
“Good boy,” Taylor heard him move slightly, before sliding the gun across the table back towards him, “now open your eyes.”  
Taylor did so, only then realising how much he was shaking.  
The master was smiling down at him.


	41. 41

“Congratulations.”  
Taylor couldn’t even blink.  
“You’ve just been reborn. The bullet in the gun represented the old you. The one that no one has a purpose for any longer,” the master explained, “you now open your eyes a brand new being. With a very distinct and very direct purpose.”  
Taylor could only stare at the table. He’d be lying if he told himself that he didn’t feel different, but he couldn’t put a handle on exactly how. He was petrified that the man was actually right.  
“Well done,” he continued as he stood from the table and placed the gun inside a nearby case that Taylor hadn’t noticed earlier, “it also means you’ve passed today’s evaluation.”  
Taylor closed his eyes again as he heard the man walk around him, heading for the door. He opened it and addressed the man on the other side. Taylor took the moment that he was free of attention to put his head in his hands.  
“He’s ready,” he heard the master say, “I want him cleaned up and taken to my quarters. I’ll meet you there and debrief him myself.”  
Taylor dropped his hands when he heard his escort enter, hoping the master hadn’t noticed his movement. The man pulled him up from the chair and escorted him from the room, heading in the opposite direction from the cells. They came to a stairwell which led up to a set of double doors, and when the door was opened Taylor blanched at the sudden sunlight. He hadn’t seen the sun in about a fortnight and the brightness made his eyes water.  
He was led across an open courtyard – passing a few people giving him odd stares – to a glass door on the opposite side. When he was taken inside this door, he paused for a moment to take in his new surroundings. Very different from where he’d just come from, this part of the building seemed to be a fully furnished home. Complete with mahogany furnishings and chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings. Before he could dwell on it too much, he was led toward a staircase and taken up to the next level. Here they stopped at a bathroom. His escort ducked his head inside and turned on the light.  
“There’s a change of clothes in there already,” he said in a bored tone, “don’t keep him waiting.”  
He unlocked Taylor’s wrists, gave him a shove inside, and closed the door.  
Taylor took a moment to gather himself and to look around the bathroom. He couldn’t help but cringe when he saw himself in the mirror for the first time. The first thing he did was to reach for the collar to try and work out how to get it off. He tried to turn it around so that he could see a clasp in the mirror, but he couldn’t even feel where it was supposed to open. He kept at it for a while before focusing on his wrist cuffs. When he had a good look at how they were locked into place, he figured that must have been how the collar was attached as well. They weren’t coming off.  
He jumped as there was a knock on the door, urging him to hurry up.  
He stepped over to the shower, having a look around inside before turning the water on. Just the sight of running water was something he hadn’t realised he’d missed. Without wasting any more time he quickly stripped off and took a shower, washing out his hair and making sure he got the two weeks’ worth of dirt and sweat off. Mission accomplished he reluctantly turned the water off.  
By the time he’d dried himself off and put on the supplied track pants and blue button-down shirt, his escort was demanding his presence outside.  
With one last look at himself in the mirror – already glad at the enormous change in appearance – he sighed and opened the door.


	42. 42

“Looking better already,” the master was waiting with a set of keys.  
Taylor’s eyes immediately lowered, wondering if he should kneel then and there. Then he noticed his escort holding some more leather cuffs.  
“Hands,” the master indicated for Taylor to hold his out.  
Taylor lifted his arms, knowing what he was doing. Glad to have the now-soaked leather away from his wrists, if only for a moment, he took a deep breath as they were replaced. Moments later, he also had a dry collar.  
“Come downstairs, I’d like you to meet someone.”  
The master gave the escort a pointed look, and he stood behind Taylor waiting to follow him down.  
As they made their way down to a sort of lobby area, Taylor’s eyes fell on an older man waiting patiently. He was dressed in similar clothing, an identical collar around his neck. He bowed his head as the master’s feet hit the floor.  
“352, this is Charlie,” he introduced, “he’ll be a sort of mentor for you over the coming days. I’d like you to learn everything you can from him. Understand?”  
Taylor eyed him curiously, almost forgetting to answer.  
“Yes, master.”  
Charlie’s face showed little to no emotion at all. Taylor was unnerved to find he couldn’t read him.  
“For now, Charlie needs to prepare my evening meal. I’d like you to accompany him. Your escort will stay with you for the first couple of days, just until you get settled in. But I trust you will show Charlie the same respect you’ve shown me,” the master said with a pointed look.  
“Yes Master,” Taylor replied softly, keeping his eyes down.  
“Good. Charlie?”  
Charlie nodded, and then indicated for Taylor to follow him. Taylor gave the master a glance as if to make sure it was alright to do so, before following him from the room.  
When they made it to the kitchen, Taylor immediately felt sick. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten anything substantial and the very smell of the food in there was overwhelming. Charlie led him to a bench where he’d obviously begun preparing the meal.  
“Can you cook?” he asked with a rusty voice.  
“Yes Sir,” Taylor nodded, unsure of how to address him as yet.  
“Then this should be easy,” Charlie offered him a reassuring smile.  
Taylor gave his escort a wary glance, before taking Charlie’s lead and performing whatever task he needed his help with.

*

“Did he mention which highway? It could have been the one we just came in on,” Rick looked across at Isaac as he refuelled his car.  
“He didn’t,” Isaac shook his head, “but I doubt it. There wasn’t really anywhere remote to turn off.”  
“See the patrol cars heading out?” Rick’s eyebrows rose.  
Isaac nodded, “probably their second wave.”  
Rick pulled the nozzle from his fuel tank and went to pay for it, soon returning and getting in the car.  
“So what’s the plan now? Wait until we hear from Davison?”  
“I’ll give him a call once we find a motel and let him know where we are,” Isaac said decidedly, “hopefully he’ll give us the highway and we can head out there ourselves at first light.”  
Rick gave him an awkward glance, but started the car and pulled out.


	43. 43

After serving the dinner and then being treated to the leftovers, Taylor found himself kneeling silently in the living room while Charlie took up some knitting and their master read the day’s paper over a glass of red. The silence was a new kind that Taylor wasn’t used to – it wasn’t unnerving.  
It wasn’t overly late when the master decided to retire. Charlie took Taylor upstairs, quickly fussing about as Taylor watched him lay out some pyjamas and even a suit for the following day. When he led him into the main bedroom however, Taylor could tell exactly what was going to happen.  
Charlie indicated the ensuite, insisting that Taylor get himself ready to sleep first. Taylor quickly used the bathroom before Charlie did himself, and then waited patiently at the end of the bed.  
“This is where we sleep,” Charlie informed him, stating what Taylor found to be obvious already.  
There wasn’t even a rug on the floor, but there was a length of chain secured to one of the bed posts with an open padlock on the end of it. Charlie ushered Taylor over to it, quickly securing the lock around the ring at the front of his collar and snapping it shut. Taylor pulled on it a little as if to test it, before sitting on the floor as they heard footsteps approaching.  
Charlie rushed to turn off the main lights and light the bedside lamp before making his way to the other end of the bed, beside Taylor on the floor. He knelt with his head bowed, making Taylor think he should probably do the same.  
The master entered a moment later and went about his business as he got ready for bed. Without a word or even a glance in their direction, he got into bed and turned off the lamp. Once the light was out Taylor heard Charlie lay down beside him, and he gingerly slid from sitting on his legs so that he was laying down as well. The chain attached to his collar rattled against the floorboards with a rather loud clatter, so he grabbed it with his hand and let it rest there to stop the noise. It wasn’t long before he heard both men falling asleep, and it wasn’t until he was sure that he closed his own eyes.

*

It was only when Zac was fed for the second time in a row that he realised Taylor hadn’t returned from his training session that day. Or the day before, he couldn’t tell. Before the man could leave the room, he cleared his throat.  
“Can I ask where my brother is?”  
He flinched as the flashlight shone in his eyes again, and braced himself in case there was a punch coming.  
“Don’t worry, it’ll be your turn soon enough,” came the reply, before he was gone.  
Zac hesitated at that, wondering if maybe he should have taken some of Taylor’s earlier advice.  
“Come on Ike, where are you?” he hit his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

*

“Can you tell us what stretch of the highway we need to be searching?”  
There was silence on the other end of the line.  
“Come on Davison, surely more pairs of eyes can’t hurt,” Isaac tried.  
“And what happens when you get jumped?”  
“He won’t be alone,” Rick leant toward the phone.  
“I’m sure they won’t be either. We don’t know how many people Devereux has in on this one. Not to mention that he knows we’re looking for him.”  
“Pretty sure he doesn’t know how close we actually are,” Rick mused, “we’re practically breathing down the back of his neck.”  
“If only we were that close,” Isaac dreamt, “how much I’d like to strangle him…”


	44. 44

The next day Taylor was introduced to the master’s routine. Charlie took him every step of the way, both showing and telling him what he was expected to do on a daily basis. Taylor didn’t really have to do much at all, he was mainly there to learn Charlie’s ways in preparation for what he may or may not be expected to do himself. However if he saw that something was going to be a lot of work – the cooking and cleaning for example – he often stepped in of his own accord to help. At first Charlie resisted when he did so, but by the end of the first day became grateful for the extra set of hands.  
Now that Taylor was on a new course, so to speak, the master had returned to training whoever he’d been working on before Taylor’s arrival. This meant that he was gone for most of the day, returning only for his lunch and then later for his dinner. Charlie seemed to spend most of that time keeping the home spotless.  
When the master returned in the evening and had finished his dinner, he called both Charlie and Taylor into the living room. Instead of taking their separate corners again, they both knelt at the foot of his chair.  
“Charlie, how is he progressing?” the master leant his head in his hand, looking them over.  
“Very well, Master,” Charlie nodded, “he has been very helpful.”  
Taylor kept his eyes to the ground, even as he felt the master’s on him.  
“No sign of disobedience?”  
“No Master, none.”  
“Charlie, you’re dismissed for the night.”  
Taylor’s eyes widened a little as Charlie nodded, then stood from the floor and left the room.  
“I’m still not a hundred per cent sure that this isn’t all an act,” he tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair.  
Taylor closed his eyes, wondering how on Earth he thought the prank with the gun could have been an act.  
“But I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. So here’s what I’m going to do.”  
Taylor’s eyes opened as he heard him lean forward a little.  
“Tomorrow I want you to pay extra special attention to everything that Charlie does, and the following day I’d like you to take it all on yourself. Is that clear?”  
“Yes Master,” Taylor replied automatically.  
“If you pass that test, and nothing else happens between now and then, we’ll see about sending you on your way.”  
Taylor closed his eyes again, fighting an internal argument as to whether that would be a good thing or not.  
“You’re dismissed,” the master gave him a wave.  
Taylor gave him a glance before hurriedly standing up and leaving the room. Charlie met him at the bottom of the stairs and walked up with him, Taylor quietly filling him in on the master’s plan for the following couple of days. Charlie gave him a reassuring pat on the back and insisted that he’d be fine.  
Taylor decided to start early, and while Charlie was laying out their master’s pyjamas he took the liberty of choosing clothes for the following day and laying them out as he’d already seen Charlie do it. Charlie couldn’t help but smile when he’d seen what he’d done, before quickly ushering him to the bathroom and afterwards securing him to the chain once again. They both sat up and waited until their master retired to bed, before settling down again themselves.


	45. 45

The next day Taylor shadowed Charlie with everything that he did, even taking over some of the smaller tasks from memory of the day before. He helped with half of the cooking, and made sure his cleaning was up to par. By the end of the day Charlie had taken a step back and let Taylor do most of the work himself, though he was obviously uneasy at not being in control of his work.  
Taylor prepared the dinner mostly by himself, and helped serve it up. He ignored the odd looks from the master as he went about his duties, and left anything dealing directly with him to Charlie.  
After dinner he was excused as Charlie and the master went to the living room to talk. He made his way to the bottom of the staircase as Charlie had for him the night before to wait. He couldn’t hear anything they said, nothing but soft murmurs coming through the open doors.  
He was waiting for quite a while before Charlie emerged. He quickly stood as the much older man made his way over and then waited for him to lead the way up the stairs.  
“You’ve done well,” was all Charlie said.  
Now that he’d opened the gates to speech, Taylor couldn’t help but ask.  
“Anything I should know about? Was he… you know. Was he happy?”  
“He’s very pleased with your progress,” Charlie nodded, leaning against the rail as he climbed, “he will see how you go in the morning, and then decide tomorrow your fate.”  
Taylor nodded as they reached the landing and headed for the bedroom.  
“Thanks Charlie,” he said sincerely.  
Charlie didn’t respond as they made their way in and settled for the night.

*

“Tell me you got something,” Isaac answered the phone as Rick pulled another U-turn.  
“I got something,” Davison mused, “a phone number.”  
“Huh?” Isaac frowned.  
“I’m putting you onto a friend of mine, Johnnie Carlson. He’s on the task force after Nathan Devereux. He’s also doing what you’re doing.”  
“What am I doing?” Isaac gave Rick a weary glance.  
“Going up and down that highway trying to find the turnoff,” Davison replied making Isaac roll his eyes, “he’s been calling me with updates so I figured the two of you could cut out the middle man. I’ll text you his details.”  
“Thanks Davison. Do we need to keep this on the down low?”  
“I’m not sure, you’ll have to work it out with him.”  
“No problem.”  
“Bye Isaac.”  
Once they’d hung up, Isaac waited as the message came through. Once he received it, he called the number straight away.  
“Carlson.”  
“Hey Carlson, this is Isaac Hanson. A mutual friend of ours gave me your number…” he squinted slightly, still keeping an eye on the road verge as they drove.  
“Ah… yes. Sorry I don’t have anything for you yet, but we’ve certainly narrowed down the search field. We’ve got it down to about ten miles. I say by tomorrow afternoon we’ll know exactly where your van went.”  
Isaac pumped his fist silently.  
“Thanks for the update,” he replied calmly giving Rick a glance, “and you have my number now.”


	46. 46

The following morning Taylor went about doing all of Charlie’s tasks himself, as instructed. Charlie watched him like a hawk every step of the way, occasionally stepping in just to set something ‘perfect’ in his eye. By the time their master returned for his lunch at midday, Taylor was feeling nervous again. He soon understood why when he and Charlie were both called into the dining room once he’d finished.  
“352, your progress has been astounding,” he said in a simple tone, throwing a napkin aside and steepling his fingers.  
“I believe you are ready to move on. I’ve organised a flight for tonight to take us to your new home.”  
Charlie gave Taylor a glance, who kept his eyes to the floor. The master addressed Charlie next.  
“Make sure you have him ready by five. I’ll take my dinner and then we’ll be on our way.”  
“Yes Master,” Charlie nodded.  
“Dismissed,” he waved them away.  
Taylor followed Charlie from the room, wondering what on Earth he’d have to do to be ‘ready’. It wasn’t as if he needed to pack anything. Charlie didn’t offer any information, just insisted that Taylor carry on with his daily duties.  
As it neared 5pm while they were working on the evening meal, Taylor nervously reminded Charlie of the time. He quickly finished up what he’d been doing, before indicating for Taylor to follow him from the kitchen. He led him back to the bedroom where he detached the padlock from the chain by the bed.  
“You’ll need your hands behind you,” he instructed.  
Taylor swallowed uneasily, but didn’t hesitate in what he asked. Charlie locked his cuffs together before making his way to a cupboard in the room that Taylor hadn’t seen opened yet. His heart sank when he saw that it was a cupboard full of restraining methods.  
Charlie selected a cloth gag and returned to Taylor’s side. Without a word, he tied it on. He quickly glanced at the time and went to fetch two more things from the cupboard – both black, so Taylor couldn’t tell what they were – before ushering Taylor back down the stairs. They heard the main doors opening as they reached the bottom, signalling the master’s return. Instead of taking him to the dining room where they had yet to serve the meal, Charlie took Taylor into the living room and indicated for him to wait there. He knelt in his usual spot as Charlie left the room.  
Sometime later, presumably after his dinner, the master made his appearance.  
“Come,” he beckoned from the doorway.  
Taylor struggled to get up for a moment, before obeying. The master took him by the arm and led him past the dining room where Charlie was already cleaning up and out to the main doors. Taylor saw that the sun was just beginning to set as he was taken outside, and then through a side gate. Waiting beside the building was a van that looked eerily similar to the one that had first brought him here just over two weeks earlier.  
The master stopped at the back doors and opened them before helping Taylor inside. He took a seat on one of the benches as the doors closed and locked behind him, before he heard the man’s footsteps walk around to the driver’s door and get in. Wondering a little at no one else accompanying them, he braced his feet as the van started to move.  
The ride didn’t feel very long, and the moment the doors were opened again it was obvious that they were at an airport. Taylor managed to get out without much help, and the moment he looked up he saw the small Cessna they’d parked beside.


	47. 47

“Isaac?”  
“Yes…?” he answered the phone.  
“Wherever you are, pull over.”  
Isaac frowned, but indicated for Rick to pull over. When he’d done so, Isaac confirmed it.  
“I need you to tell me exactly where you are.”  
“Why?” Isaac’s curiosity had been sparked, “are we in trouble?”  
“On the contrary,” Carlson’s voice smirked, “I need to give you directions.”  
Isaac’s eyes couldn’t help but light up and he turned to Rick as he began to try and describe exactly where they’d stopped. There wasn’t much in the way of unique scenery, but the fact that they’d been going up and down the same stretch of highway for a number of days now made it easier to pin point.  
“Okay,” Carlson took a deep breath, “check your counter. You need to turn around and head back exactly 4.6 miles. Exactly 4.6. There’ll be a patrol car waiting. Head down the dirt track and we’ll be waiting for you at the end.”  
“Is it definitely them?” Isaac asked after relaying the information to Rick so that he could leave straight away.  
“We’ve had visual confirmation. But be careful. We’re trying to stay out of sight until we can get a helicopter in the air to scope out the grounds. The place is huge.”  
“So we still don’t know exactly what’s going on?” Isaac winced a little.  
“No, but I have the feeling we’re about to step into something much bigger than expected.”  
“Are you there?”  
“Ready and waiting for you.”  
“Okay,” Isaac nodded with a sigh, “then we’ll see you soon.”  
When he hung up, Rick glanced across at him.  
“What’s that look for?” he frowned.  
“I don’t know,” Isaac shook his head honestly, “they think they’ve found the place, but… Carlson’s worried.”  
“And we’re not?” Rick pointed out, “we don’t have an entire task force on our side for no reason.”  
“Please just let this be over tonight,” Isaac murmured as he spotted the aforementioned patrol car up ahead and pointed it out, “that’s gotta be it.”  
Rick pulled in, getting a wave through from the officer, and they headed down the track. About a half mile in they met with a small congregation of cars and a surveillance van.  
As Isaac got out of the car he was approached by an officer in SWAT uniform.  
“Carlson,” Isaac smiled as he shook his hand.  
“Isaac. Nice to meet you outside of a car window,” he mused, “so this is what we have. The building is actually centred on the next road in…”  
He used his hands for emphasis on describing where they were in relation.  
“As soon as the sun’s finished going down, we’ll be getting a chopper in the air with heat-seeking technology so we can work out where everyone is. Once we get the visuals the force will be organising a raid.”  
“A raid?” Rick frowned, “exactly how many people are we expecting?”  
“A lot,” Carlson’s eyebrows rose, “since I called we’ve scouted three vans coming and going already.”  
“Coming and going? So there’s a possibility they might not even be here?” Isaac demanded.


	48. 48

Taylor was awkwardly loaded into the back of the plane where multiple animal cages sat. Seeing the chains and other attachments Taylor could tell that they weren’t used for transporting animals so much as people. Once he’d been locked inside a rather large one, the master closed up the doors and made his way to the front of the plane. He took his time performing all of his pre-flight checks before taking his seat in the pilot’s position.  
Taylor shook the hair out of his eyes as the plane took off down the runway, before struggling to find his footing as it lifted into the air. His hands had nothing to hold behind him so all he could do was dig his heels into the wire base of the cage. The cage itself wasn’t very secure and was already sliding across the floor.  
By the time they steadied out in the air, the sun was well and truly gone.

*

“They’re in position,” Carlson informed Isaac as he stood at the rear of the surveillance van.  
Isaac was sitting inside with Rick, eyes plastered to a screen that gave them a thermal imaging aerial view of the building. The amount of body heat signatures told them there were at minimum thirty people in there.  
“How much longer?” Isaac asked without looking up, holding a headset to his ear.  
“Not long. You’ll see them move in. You guys stay here until I give the all clear,” Carlson indicated his own headset.  
Isaac and Rick both nodded, and Carlson closed the doors again.  
“Do you really think they’re still here?” Rick asked once he’d gone.  
“I don’t know,” Isaac looked tired, “but where else would they be? We don’t even know why they were brought here in the first place.”  
They leant forward a little in anticipation as they saw the outlines of the SWAT team moving in on the building. They saw a group of three hit one of the doors at the perimeter, gradually making their way inside. They headed down a hall, slowly coming across a group of six heat signatures to their right. Isaac and Rick held their breath as they waited to see what would happen when they met. Curiously, one of the SWAT members stayed by the doorway to the room while the other two continued down the hall. None of the bodies in the room moved.  
“Why aren’t they taking them down?” Isaac frowned, before Rick grabbed the headset from him.  
He listened in to the agents as they whispered commands to each other, picking up on codes and terms that Isaac wouldn’t know.  
“They’re hostages,” he said finally, making Isaac’s eyes widen.  
“Do you think…?”  
“We won’t know until it’s over,” Rick kept his eyes to the screen.  
They saw two people starting to make their way down the hall to where the SWAT members were coming through. This time when they met there were sudden shouts through the headset and then many of the heat signatures began to scatter.  
“Here we go,” Rick’s eyebrows rose as Isaac leant further forward.  
They took note of the multiple rooms where signatures lay where no one appeared to be moving. As gunfire began to break out, they noticed that only about ten of the thirty they could see were actually fighting back.  
“Something’s going on here,” Isaac said decidedly, “this can’t only be about Taylor and Zac.”  
“You’re telling me,” Rick barely breathed.


	49. 49

Isaac and Rick watched, barely breathing, as the raid took place. The situation seemed to be contained relatively quickly, but as the SWAT members sought out everyone else in the building there was still an air of tension.  
From viewing the screen in the van Isaac and Rick had made out five separate rooms with hostages, numbers ranging from three to six per room. It wasn’t until the first room began to be emptied that Rick heard Carlson’s all clear through the radio and gave Isaac the nod.  
The two of them left the van and ran for the building. They immediately spotted the main doors where the SWAT team were bringing people out – dirty, ragged, but alive. Isaac darted forward and quickly searched the faces.  
“Isaac stay back,” he heard Carlson’s voice nearby.  
Quickly registering that neither Taylor or Zac were in the first group, Isaac stood back with his hands on his head.  
“Are they here?!” he called out.  
“I don’t know. There’s plenty more where these came from.”  
“Where’s Nate?” Rick demanded.  
“He’s not here,” Carlson said regretfully.  
“Dammit!” Isaac exclaimed, biting his fist.  
A moment later the second group of hostages came through the doors, and Isaac’s eyes immediately widened.  
“ZAC?”  
He rushed over to him and grabbed him into a tight hug.  
“Ike?” Zac sounded confused.  
“Yeah Zac, it’s me.”  
Zac let out a sound of relief, before ducking his head to lean on Isaac’s shoulder. His hands were still awkwardly chained together making it impossible to hug him back. It wasn’t until an officer put a hand on Isaac’s shoulder as an indication that they needed to move that he let him go.  
“Where’s Taylor?” was Isaac’s first question.  
“I don’t know,” Zac’s eyes were welling up, “Ike… they broke him.”  
“What?” Isaac frowned, “what do you mean?”  
“Over here please Zac,” came Carlson’s voice gently as he gestured for him to move against a van.  
Zac couldn’t answer Isaac’s question, and instead followed Carlson. He was lined up with the other two ‘hostages’ that had been in his cell, had a quick photo taken of their state, and then tended to with bolt cutters.  
“Zac?” Isaac was on him again the second the chains were off.  
Zac didn’t give him a chance to continue before grabbing him into his own hug. He cringed as his arms screamed at him in pain, but ignored it.  
“Zac tell me what happened,” Isaac insisted, not even trying to push him away, “what did he do to you? What’s going on here?”  
Zac gulped as he pulled himself together in an effort to get it out.  
“He sold us,” he said finally.  
“What?” Isaac demanded, finally ducking out of Zac’s arms and staring him down.  
“Slave trade. Human trafficking, whatever you call it,” Zac shrugged dejectedly, “Ike, this is… this is huge. I had no idea how big this was.”


	50. 50

After they’d found Zac some water Isaac had managed to convince Carlson to let him take him back to the surveillance van – at least until the raid was truly over. He would still have to get to the hospital for a check over.  
“When did you last see Taylor?” Rick asked as Zac sat in front of the screens.  
“I’m not sure,” Zac replied honestly before spying a muesli bar someone had left in the van, “can I have that?”  
Rick glanced over his shoulder, grabbing it and throwing it to him.  
“Thanks.”  
“Can you guess?” Isaac looked hopeful.  
“A few days at least,” Zac said thoughtfully, “but I can’t be sure. He was in and out all the time.”  
“How do you mean?” Rick asked cautiously, as if he felt he was touching an open wound.  
“They were sending him for training sessions,” Zac revealed, making Isaac give him a shocked look.  
“Training sessions?” Rick wanted clarified.  
“Yeah,” Zac nodded, mouth full of muesli, “he didn’t want to talk about it much, but he always came back with new bruises. I think the first time they broke his fingers.”  
Isaac covered his mouth with his hand, eyes to the screens again.  
“Why?” Rick scowled, “why would they break his fingers?”  
“To get his wedding ring off,” Zac informed them, not bothering to look at either of them, “something to do with ‘ownership’ or whatever. They said something about rushing him through the system. Nate has to have quite a hold on these people, because he was sold almost straight away.”  
“They actually sold him,” Isaac could barely get the words out.  
“I’d say within the first day,” Zac pulled a face, “but supposedly I had a couple of people that wanted me, so they had to bid.”  
Isaac just shook his head.  
“So we need to find out who bought him,” Rick said decidedly.  
“Pretty sure these people don’t keep much of a paper trail,” Zac smirked.  
“You’d be surprised,” Rick’s eyebrows rose, “not that we have much experience with this kind of thing. I mean we always knew this kind of thing was going on, but they always tend to take people that others won’t notice are gone, you know? You guys are an unusual case.”  
“They messed with the wrong people, that’s for sure,” Isaac murmured making Zac smile.  
A knock on the van door made Zac jump, and they looked up to see Carlson.  
“Ready to go, Zac?”  
Zac gave Isaac a glance before getting up to step out of the van again.  
“Are you coming?” he turned back to Isaac.  
Isaac gave the screens another glance, as if debating with himself that Taylor could still be there somewhere.  
“Definitely,” he replied, getting up to step out.  
“I’ll follow you guys, unless you want to come in my car?” Rick offered.  
“Do you know where to go?” Carlson asked him.  
“I can follow the vans,” Rick shrugged.  
“Alright?” Carlson looked between Isaac and Zac, who both gave a nod.  
Carlson closed up the van as they made their way back to Rick’s car, and were soon on their way to the hospital as part of a very long convoy.


	51. 51

As the plane came in to land Taylor braced himself against the side of the cage. As careful as he was, he still managed to hit his head. Once the plane slowed on the tarmac enough for him to relax, he moaned as he leant his head against the side.  
The master soon had the plane in park and climbed out. When he came to fetch Taylor from the back, Taylor looked up to see that he had the same black restraints in his hands that Charlie had pulled from the cupboard back at the base.  
“Out,” he ordered once he had the cage unlocked.  
Taylor took a deep breath before sliding forward, and just managing to get his legs over the edge and fall from the plane. No sooner had his feet touched the ground did the master slip on a blindfold. Catching his breath in his chest, Taylor waited patiently while trying not to make a sound. Once the blindfold was on, he also felt some kind of hood go over his head.  
“Come,” he heard the instruction before the master took him by the arm.  
He carefully followed, trusting the man enough to not lead him into a wall or a ditch or anything. They soon found a car and Taylor was pushed into the back seat. He felt someone – presumably the master – get in beside him, before the car started and pulled out.  
The car ride took a long time, almost as long as the flight itself. Taylor had a moment of panic somewhere near the halfway mark as the hood set off his claustrophobia, but he managed to pull himself back purely from the fear that he could be in a much worse situation if the master had known what had set him off.  
When the car finally came to a halt and he was pulled from the back seat, he felt a second pair of hands on his other arm to guide him. He wasn’t sure how far he was taken – up at least one set of stairs – before he heard the master’s voice telling him to kneel.  
Obeying, he set to listen.  
“Delivered, as promised. I trust you received the booklet?” he heard the master’s voice.  
“I did,” he heard the voice of the woman in reply.  
“For this one in particular, I’d like you to take extra care for the first few weeks. His training was very rushed, as you know, so he hasn’t completely assimilated emotionally yet. He is very skittish, so I would suggest keeping him restrained for minimum of the first week just until he gets used to his new surroundings.”  
Taylor jumped as he felt someone attach something to the front of his collar, only realising it was a chain when the slack hit his chest. A moment later the hood was pulled off.  
“If you have any problems at all, this is my direct line,” the master went on, “I’ve been dealing with him exclusively so you’ll need to talk to me only. These will help in the meantime.”  
Taylor heard something being passed over that sounded dreadingly like the box from the sessions. He jumped again when he heard a phone ringing.  
“Excuse me,” the master took a step back, “hello? … What?!”  
“I didn’t buy a blue eyed American for him to be blindfolded, take it off,” Taylor heard the woman’s voice speaking over him.  
He felt someone tug at it, before pulling it over his head. He blinked as his eyes adjusted, momentarily making eye contact with her before lowering his eyes to the floor.  
“I apologise,” the master suddenly returned to the conversation, “something has come up and I need to return to Waco. If there are any issues, you need but call.”  
“Thank you,” the woman nodded as he took his leave.


	52. 52

“Stand up.”  
Taylor flinched as the order left her lips, realising that having a different ‘master’ was going to take some getting used to.  
He leant back on his feet a little and levered himself upward.  
“He’s tall,” came a male voice from behind him.  
“His height is irrelevant,” the woman stepped forward and took his chin in her hand.  
She lifted his head and turned him to face the left as she studied a purple bruise on his cheek.  
“They could have at least provided him in one piece,” she muttered.  
“He has a bandage on one of his hands, too.”  
The woman let his chin go and stepped around behind him. Taylor immediately returned his gaze to the floor.  
“Hmm. It’s a splint. He must have broken a finger,” she realised.  
She stepped around to the front again and pulled the gag down to his throat.  
“How long ago were your fingers broken?” she demanded.  
“I don’t know,” Taylor’s voice shook, “maybe two weeks?”  
She nodded.  
“Then it’ll be another three,” she said with finality before looking to the man behind him, “take him to the stables and make sure he’s comfortable. We’ll resume in the morning.”  
Taylor said nothing as he was taken by the shoulder and led away. He couldn’t help but notice on the way through that the building was very large and open, almost looking like something out of an old time movie. The décor was lush and obviously expensive from the little that he could see before he was taken outside and down a dark and beaten path.  
He could smell the horses before they came to the stables, and they passed some young people on the way. No one gave him a second glance. As they passed the row of horses, they soon came to an empty stall. His escort opened the gate and pulled a lantern from the outside wall in with him. Taylor followed only when he pulled on his chain.  
Setting the lantern on a hook in the wall, his escort pulled him to the back wall where he attached the chain. Producing a key he unlocked the padlock on his wrist cuffs, before turning to take the lantern again. Without even another glance he closed the gate behind him on the way out and slid the bolt across.  
Taylor stretched his arms out and rolled his shoulders, before feeling out the length of the chain in the dark. He took a few steps forward to test it and realised it gave him enough room to walk around the entire space. With a tired sigh he sat down against the side wall, holding the chain in his hand as he closed his eyes.  
It was hot, but not an uncomfortable hot. He’d already guessed that he was somewhere very south, possibly even across the Mexican border by now.  
His mind drifted to Zac as he thought about the cell he hadn’t seen in days. He hoped they would at least be giving him water now that they’d replaced his medication, even if they didn’t feed him every day. Hopefully they wouldn’t start training him just yet at least.  
He opened his eyes and looked towards the door as he registered footsteps walking past. They didn’t stop. It was only once his eyes had adjusted to the dark that he recognised a soft golden light filtering through the cracks in the gate from the lanterns outside. They almost gave the illusion of a distant sunrise.


	53. 53

A soft tapping is what awoke Taylor the next morning. As he struggled to open his eyes, he looked up to see another pair looking in through the gate at him. Carefully so as not to spook the child, he rolled over onto his stomach and pushed himself up. No sooner had his head left the hay did the eyes disappear in a flurry of giggles.  
The sound of childish laughter had become so foreign to him that it took a moment to register. But when it did, it made him smile for the first time in a long time.  
He pulled himself up into a sitting position, already eyeing off the hay and wondering if it’d be a good idea to eat.  
It wasn’t overly long before he heard some footsteps actually stop at his door. He looked up to see a man of African descent opening the gate, pausing to look him over. Taylor immediately noticed the gold band around his neck, signalling that he was a slave himself.  
The man asked him something in another language. Not knowing what he’d said, Taylor just gave him a confused look. He tried again with the same words but when there was no response he shook his head. He came into the stable and made his way to where the chain was attached to the wall. Moving some sort of lever, he managed to disconnect it. Realising he was about to move, Taylor stood and brushed himself off so that he was ready. The African waited until he saw that Taylor was ready before timidly indicating for him to follow him out. Taylor just nodded in reply before he was led out.  
Now that the sun was in the sky, if only just, he faltered a little when he saw the view. The stables were set above a sort of valley with a view of the countryside below that he hadn’t been expecting. When there was a tug on his collar he stumbled forward, the African taking a moment to realise what had happened. He waited until Taylor nodded again before continuing on.  
He led him down the same track he’d walked up the previous night, diverting to the left when they reached the bottom. When they passed through a side door Taylor found himself relieved when they entered a bustling kitchen. This, he’d been prepared for.  
There were six other young men in the kitchen, all fussing over different stoves and benches. A great deal of cold food had already been prepared off to the side. Expecting to be put to work straight away, he was a little taken aback when his chain was secured to a post in a corner. Looking to the African for guidance, the man indicated his eyes and then the men already working. Realising that he was simply supposed to watch, Taylor gave another nod and obediently stood back in the corner as the African began going through to check the boys’ progress.  
Taylor realised very quickly that none of them spoke English. Or if they were able to, they didn’t. He was barely able to make out a few Spanish words, but got the distinct impression that it could have been a mix of languages in the room.  
By the time they’d completed their tasks, there was a right feast ready to be moved out. No sooner had they finished did they begin pass the trays onto what appeared to be wait staff. Taylor watched curiously before the African came to collect him, letting him follow the wait staff out of the kitchen and into the main dining hall. It was already filled with people from multiple ethnicities and of all ages. The wait staff handed out the platters and the children began digging in as Taylor was led down a back row towards the centre of the longest table. When his eyes fell on the woman he knew where he was heading.  
The African led him to her, and she said something to him in Spanish before dismissing him.  
“Sit,” she instructed, indicating for Taylor to sit on the floor behind her chair.


	54. 54

“Look, maybe we should head back for Tulsa?” Rick suggested.  
Both Isaac and Zac gave him a dark look, making him wince.  
“Taylor’s obviously not in Fort Worth anymore, I don’t see why we’re still in Texas.”  
“Because this is the last place anyone knew him to be,” Zac shrugged.  
“Carlson’s promised to let us know if anything comes up in interrogations,” Isaac said tiredly.  
“And we should be here in case he’s nearby,” Zac insisted.  
“Didn’t you say the woman that bought him was Mexican?” Rick pointed out, “what if he’s been taken to Mexico?”  
“You’d think the patrol cars would have picked up on any vans leaving over the past few days, yeah?” Zac looked to Isaac.  
“We don’t know that it was the only way in,” Isaac shrugged.  
“But they would have checked by now,” Zac frowned, “surely they have satellite cover?”  
“Satellites are out,” Isaac replied, making Rick roll his eyes when he realised he was being ignored.  
“What do you mean ‘out’?”  
“Cloud cover.”  
“Great.”  
“Another reason it took so long to find you,” Rick added.  
“Three days earlier, three days, and Tay would have been there as well,” Zac shook his head.  
“Don’t remind me,” Isaac grumbled.  
Zac stood and made his way to the window, the motel room sending him stir crazy already.  
“Maybe we should go back,” he said suddenly.  
“Go back where?” Isaac frowned.  
“To the base,” Zac looked over his shoulder, “maybe we could find something the cops didn’t?”  
“Oh no,” Rick insisted, “they have that place locked down, no one is getting in or out.”  
“What if I told them I needed to see it? For… emotional closure or whatever.”  
“No,” Rick shook his head, “no way. The amount of paperwork and red tape you’d need to get through? You wouldn’t get near the place within a week.”  
“So what if we don’t ask first?” Zac shrugged.  
“What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand?” Rick scowled.  
“And you thought I was a pain in the ass, right?” Isaac smirked.  
“Maybe I’ll just do what I did last time and take off,” Zac gave him a pointed look.  
“You want to get shot again?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose as Rick threw his hands up in disgust.  
“If that’s what it takes to get Tay back. Ike, you didn’t see him.”  
“I know, I get that,” Isaac rubbed his chin as Zac folded his arms.  
“No, you don’t,” Zac insisted, turning again to stare him down, “every day he spent there they killed a little part of him. I saw each part of it break away. He didn’t even talk in the end. Like he had to be given permission to open his mouth.”  
“You don’t think I’m as worried as you are?” Isaac’s voice rose slightly.  
“No I don’t,” Zac hit back, “because you don’t have the capacity to be as worried as I am. You weren’t there!”  
“Guys, guys, can we put the rulers away before this gets too heated?” Rick spread his arms out between them, knowing full well that Taylor was their usual mediator.  
“I’m going to call Kate again,” Zac just shook his head and disappeared into the bathroom.


	55. 55

Taylor ignored the curious onlookers as best he could, feeling their eyes on him even as he closed his. He was hugging his knees in to his chest as he sat on the floor behind the woman’s chair, the chain attached to his collar pooled around him and looped around a chair leg.  
He was startled back to reality toward the end of the meal when a hand appeared in front of his face holding a bread roll with a mixture of salad inside. He looked up in surprise to see that it was the woman handing it to him.  
“Eat,” she said simply, still holding it out to him.  
Taylor frowned a little, but took it from her hand.  
“Thank you Mistress,” he said softly, looking confused.  
She turned back to her table as Taylor looked it over, not remembering the last time he’d eaten anything like it. Being around so much food without having eaten for almost twenty four hours had made him start to feel sick again, but not wanting to offend her he quickly began to eat it.  
As he ate, he noticed the man who sat next to her gesturing towards him as he spoke to her in Spanish. They entered a short but heated argument before he got up and left. Taylor watched after him worriedly, getting the distinct impression that he didn’t like him being there. The woman offered no explanation.  
When she was done, she stood from the chair and took his leash in her hand. He quickly stood up as she spoke to some of the nearby children, before she began to lead him from the dining hall.  
They made their way down a few different corridors, Taylor getting a grasp on just how huge the place was, before entering what looked to be a cross between a small library and a large study. She closed the door behind her before instructing him to kneel on the floor. He did so.  
“What is your name?” she asked as she looked down at him.  
“Taylor,” he glanced up as he responded.  
She stared at him for a moment, before nodding.  
“It suits you. You can keep it.”  
She made her way over to the desk and picked up a small book before leaning against the front of it.  
“Thank you Mistress,” Taylor closed his eyes gratefully.  
“Miss.”  
Taylor looked up questioningly.  
“I prefer ‘Miss’. ‘Mistress’ makes me sound… underhanded.”  
“Sorry Miss,” Taylor blushed a little, feeling like he was in trouble already.  
There was silence as she leafed through the booklet.  
“Boundaries. I believe those will become apparent over the coming few days,” she murmured to herself, “you are not to go anywhere unescorted, at least for the first week. Duties and expectations…”  
She paused as she read the page, before setting the book aside and looking down at him. He didn’t lift his eyes from the floor.  
“Your main duty here will be to tend to the children,” she announced.  
That made him look up.  
“Mine only, at first. Other members of the family are… not as understanding of Americans, you see. I’d like you to tutor them in English, and once your hands are healed, piano.”  
Taylor’s face visibly brightened, but he held any other reaction at bay.  
“However it will be a few days before I’ll allow you to meet with them.”


	56. 56

“You’ll also be expected to help out with odd jobs while the children are otherwise incapacitated. But we’ll try to keep that to a minimum at first while the others get used to having you around.”  
Taylor just nodded.  
“Until then I’d like you to either stay in your stall or by my side. Do you speak any Spanish?”  
“No Miss,” Taylor blushed again.  
“Good. Certain people will be glad to know you aren’t potentially eavesdropping.”  
Taylor frowned to himself, wondering who he’d even tell anything to.  
“You will be expected to keep a neat appearance as well. I will show you to a bathroom I expect you to use,” she went on, eyes never leaving him, “and we’ll need to measure you for some new clothes. You’re taller than I remember you being. Your leathers will have to go.”  
Taylor looked up worriedly as she began to make her way toward him.  
“Give me your hands,” she instructed.  
Taylor obediently raised them, baring his wrists. It took her a moment, but she removed the leather cuffs. Aside from having them replaced when he’d had a shower at the master’s house, they hadn’t been off since his first couple of days in captivity. It was an odd sensation and he held his bare wrists awkwardly when she was done.  
“I’ll leave the collar on until it can be replaced. We’ll need the blacksmith to do that,” she revealed.  
Taylor swallowed at that, wondering why.  
“And I should warn you, that while you are… what is the term… working out your new found freedoms, everyone is keeping a careful eye on you. I don’t think you need to be told what will happen if you try to do anything to harm me or my kin.”  
“No Miss,” Taylor shook his head insistently.  
“Good.”

*

As the afternoon wore on, Taylor spent the majority of it following the woman around as she went about her daily routine. He caught glimpses of the children now and again, but she always sent them on their way. As the evening approached she returned him to the stables, assuring him that someone named ‘Ibby’ would bring him something to eat. After she’d gone, he stretched the chain out so that he could sit by the gate and watch the sun setting through the slats.  
It was well after dark when he heard footsteps approaching. When the gate opened he looked up to see the African again, holding onto a plate of food. Taylor smiled thankfully as it was handed down to him, before realising the man was just going to stand there and wait for him to finish it. Awkwardly, he hurried to eat it.  
When he was done he handed the plate back. The African took it and set it aside. Taylor frowned curiously before he indicated for Taylor to follow him out.  
Taylor’s eyes widened slightly and he shook his head. He’d been told to stay in the stall.  
The African persisted, and finally Taylor just grabbed the chain and held it up to emphasise that he wasn’t going anywhere. With a knowing look, the man stepped inside and went to unhook the chain. Taylor froze, not wanting to move but unsure if he was going to be able to resist if the man pulled him out. Which is exactly what he did.  
Taylor’s eyes darted warily as he stepped out, the African closing the gate after him. He led him in the opposite direction that they usually took, coming out at the other end of the stables. When they followed a rough path through the trees, they soon met up with three other young men.


	57. 57

The group spoke in hushed Spanish as they sat under the cover of trees that overlooked an area where the horses were trained. The area below was lit by firelight and there were many people down there. Taylor was tempted to dig in his heels and hightail it back to the stables, but there was something about the African that against his better judgement Taylor felt that he could trust.  
“Ibby,” the man said suddenly in a deep voice, a hand on his chest.  
“Sorry?” Taylor frowned, the three other young men stepping forward to look him over.  
“Ibby,” he repeated, patting his chest before reaching forward to touch Taylor’s.  
“Oh,” Taylor realised before patting his chest in turn, “Taylor.”  
Ibby nodded before indicating the three boys, all looking to be in their late teens or early twenties.  
“Lukka,” they nodded in succession, “Tranu, Siemme.”  
“Lukka, Tranu, Siemme,” Taylor nodded to each of them, making them smile, “…and Ibby.”  
“Si!” Ibby nodded with a smile.  
“American?” Siemme asked with a thick accent.  
“Yes,” Taylor nodded, his adrenaline starting to pump as he began to realise that the slaves must be friends who met up regularly.  
He recognised both Tranu and Siemme from the kitchen that morning. Lukka he hadn’t seen before.  
Tranu reached out to gingerly touch Taylor’s collar. Taylor had noticed that the three boys all wore what looked like a thin iron ring to signify their status - as opposed to Ibby’s gold one. Remembering the woman’s earlier statement about needing a blacksmith to replace his collar, he suddenly realised that theirs had been welded together and were therefore irremovable. Having been looking forward to getting out of the thick leather, he now wasn’t so sure he wanted to.  
Tranu said something to Lukka in Spanish, and indicated Taylor’s height. Any other time Taylor would have rolled his eyes but he was trying to pick up on what they were saying. Ibby gave him a curious look as he watched.  
“¿Habla usted español?”  
“No,” Taylor shook his head, knowing what that had meant at least.  
Ibby gave him a pat on the back, before indicating for him to sit with them. Taylor accepted the end of his chain as he handed it to him before kneeling down between he and Siemme. He realised they were there to watch whatever was going on down below in the yards.  
It wasn’t long before there was some sort of commotion and they began to pay closer attention. When Taylor leant forward he could see that there was a group of older men – older than him anyhow – that appeared to be dragging someone through the dirt.  
“What’s going on?” Taylor frowned, receiving hushes from the boys.  
He looked to Ibby, who only indicated for Taylor to watch.  
The person who’d been dragged into the yard was soon tied to post, the men circling and laughing. One went to fetch a whip from a fencepost and quickly unwound it before striking a first blow.  
“Oh my-!” Taylor sat back as Siemme’s hand clamped over his mouth.  
He closed his eyes and clamped his hands over his ears, but he could still hear the man’s screams after every crack of the whip. Once Siemme let him go he felt Ibby’s hand on his shoulder.  
Opening his eyes only to look at Ibby, he watched as he turned to show Taylor his back. Scars crisscrossed as far as Taylor could see.  
“Why?” Taylor asked, unable to stop his eyes welling up.  
Not knowing the question, Ibby was unable to answer. He replaced his shirt and continued to watch.


	58. 58

When the attackers appeared to get bored, they left their victim tied to the post and went off to get drunk. When they were sure there was no one left, Lukka and Tranu began to sneak away through the trees. Siemme looked back at Taylor and Ibby before following. Ibby indicated for Taylor to follow, but when Taylor looked down he saw that they were making their way out to check on the beaten man. He shook his head, obviously shaking a little.  
Ibby gave him another pat on the back, opting to stay with him instead of following the others.  
As they watched on, the three boys checked the man over, before beginning to carefully untie his bonds. When the man’s body collapsed, they carried him away. Once they were out of sight Ibby stood up and indicated for Taylor to follow him back to the stables. Thankful that he could get back to somewhere that was somewhat safe, Taylor quickly followed.  
Back in the stall Ibby replaced the chain to its usual post before giving Taylor’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Taylor gave him a nod to confirm that he was okay, before Ibby closed the gate and left.

*

The next morning the same tapping woke Taylor for the second day in a row. This time a voice came with it.  
“Taaaaaaaylorrrrrrrrrr…”  
Taylor looked up to see the same young eyes watching him through the gate.  
“Who are you?” he asked softly, not wanting to move in case it scared him off.  
“Who are you?” the voice came back.  
Taylor smiled, before rolling onto his side. As previously thought the moment he moved the child took off running. With a groan, his head hit the hay again.  
The bulk of the day was spent recreating the day before. Ibby fetched him in the morning, he spent breakfast in the hall with the woman, and afterward accompanied her wherever she needed to go. She spent a lot of time in an office doing computer work, and the rest making sure that other people were doing theirs. As the day wore on, she took Taylor out into the yard. As they passed by the post where the beating had taken place he diverted his eyes warily. There was still a pool of blood on the ground and drag marks from where the boys had pulled him away.  
Glad they weren’t stopping anywhere near it he followed her into a shed. She greeted a man inside in Spanish before indicating for Taylor to sit in a chair. When Taylor saw it, he couldn’t help but hesitate.  
“Sit,” she ordered when she saw him stop.  
Taylor gave her a worried glance, but complied. When he was seated in the angled chair his wrists were strapped to the arms securely and the chain removed from his collar. His head leant back into a sort of brace where they tightened leather straps over his forehead and chin to hold it in place. When he was strapped in, his collar was removed.  
He heard the harsh clangs of metal beside him before the woman said something in Spanish and a large golden ring was passed to her over Taylor’s eye line. He immediately closed them, knowing what was about to happen.  
The ring was set in place around his neck, the woman placing a finger beneath it so that it wouldn’t choke him as the blacksmith pulled it together at the back. Bracing himself for the heat he knew was coming, Taylor clutched the arms of the chair until his knuckles went white.  
The first time the blacksmith accidentally hit his neck, he couldn’t help but cry out. The woman rushed to tend to his burn, but couldn’t stop it from happening twice more.


	59. 59

Taylor was left in the chair to recover after the back of his neck was bandaged up. The blacksmith went on with other work but the woman remained by his side.  
“Are you alright?” she asked after a long silence, stepping into his line of sight.  
“Yes Miss,” Taylor responded straight away, blinking away the moisture in his eyes.  
“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you Taylor?”  
Taylor’s eyes widened and he struggled with a response.  
“Now I expect honest responses from you. Especially if you are to be around my children,” she said calmly, “are you alright?”  
Taylor swallowed, unable to shake his head.  
“It just hurts,” he said softly as he closed his eyes again.  
“Understandable,” he was surprised when she rested a hand on top of his for a moment.  
She stayed with him until the blacksmith assured them that the heat in the collar would be gone. When they had the go ahead she unstrapped his head from the chair, before replacing the chain onto the new collar and also unstrapping his wrists. He sat up awkwardly before sliding to the floor. The back of the collar rested on his bandages, thankfully just below where the burns were.  
As the woman raised his leash she gave him a pointed look.  
“Follow closely, I do not wish to pull on it.”  
Taylor nodded gratefully, knowing that she was trying to keep the collar off the burns. With a last nod of thanks to the blacksmith she led him out of the shed and back up to the stables. Realising that she was going to leave him there to rest it off, he gladly went into his stall and waited as she secured the chain.  
“Tomorrow I will introduce you to the children,” she informed him.  
“Thank you Miss,” Taylor’s eyes lowered.  
She finished what she was doing and stopped to watch as he lowered himself onto the hay.  
“You’re looking forward to it, aren’t you?” she asked curiously.  
“Yes Miss,” he admitted.  
“Why?”  
Taylor hesitated, caught off guard. He hadn’t expected to ever really be asked anything again.  
“I… like kids,” he shrugged uneasily.  
She nodded thoughtfully.  
“It must have been hard losing your own.”  
He dared not look up at her with the look of anguish he knew had appeared on his face. Instead he pulled his knees in to his chest and hugged them securely.  
“Rest. I’ll have Ibby bring your evening meal,” she said before stepping out of the stall.  
He looked up only once the gate was closed, watching as her shadow passed the slats as she walked away. He waited until he couldn’t hear her any more before leaning his head back against the wall and finally letting his tears fall.  
He knew that they were okay, and that they were somewhere safe. He even knew somewhere deep down inside that as long as he kept himself alive that there would even be a remote chance that he could see them again. But even that couldn’t curb his grief at not even being able to hear their voices over the phone. At not knowing that a hug was just a day away.  
He wiped his eyes after a time, having easily worn himself out. Knowing he was likely to fall asleep well before Ibby showed up, he carefully lay down on his side and tiredly closed his eyes.


	60. 60

The following morning there was no miniature intruder. Ibby woke him up as he opened the gate, pausing in the doorway when he saw how red Taylor’s eyes were. Taylor stood up from where he’d been laying, and when Ibby saw that he was ready to go he came inside to fetch the chain.  
Saying something in Spanish, he indicated his neck with a smile. Taylor just gave him a confused look, knowing it must have been some sort of reference to the fact that they now wore the same collar. When Ibby said the same thing twice, he just shrugged apologetically.  
Ibby waved his hand knowing that he didn’t understand him before leading him out and down to the breakfast hall.  
“You look terrible,” the woman frowned when she saw him.  
“Sorry Miss,” Taylor’s eyes lowered.  
“Go and get yourself cleaned up, then come back for something to eat.”  
He nodded as she spoke to Ibby in Spanish, before he took Taylor out and to the bathroom she’d shown him a couple of days earlier. He blanched when he saw himself in the mirror, and immediately washed his face. He must have done more crying the night before than he’d realised.  
After breakfast the woman took him back to the study where he automatically knelt in front of the desk again. She stepped in front of him and stooped to detach the chain from his collar. Taylor immediately felt awkward at not having it there after three days with it, but was glad for the weight to be off his neck.  
“I will call the children in shortly,” she said as she went back to the desk with the chain in her hands, “you’ll not be expected to do anything but meet them for today. They’ll need to get used to you before you can teach them anything.”  
“Yes Miss,” Taylor’s eyes darted to the door before lowering.  
He couldn’t stop himself glancing up when he heard something solid hit the table. When he saw that she’d put the taser on the desk, he gulped.  
“Are you ready?” she asked.  
“Yes Miss,” Taylor nodded warily, telling himself it was just a precaution.  
She hit a button on her desk phone, presumably the intercom, “send them in.”  
Moments later they heard footsteps running down the hall. Taylor looked up to the door as they watched it open, two young boys of about six or seven and a girl of about ten cautiously peeking around before stepping in.  
The woman said something to them in Spanish, obviously coaxing them in closer. One of the boys had a cheeky grin on his face, and Taylor soon recognised his eyes as those belonging to the child who kept waking him up. He gave him a small smile in return.  
“Taylor,” he was distracted by the woman’s voice, “these are Gabriela, my daughter, and the twins Javier and David.”  
She said something to them in Spanish before David – the one with the grin – stepped forward.  
“Taylor!” he said solidly, tapping him on the shoulder.  
“Hello,” Taylor smiled, tall enough to look him in the eye as he knelt, “David.”  
David just grinned back, stepping around to his side to look at his hair. Javier followed his brother, poking at Taylor’s arm until he raised it a little. Gabriela stayed by her mother’s side shyly.  
“They’re beautiful,” Taylor looked up as David played with his hair, a little worried at speaking out of turn.  
“Thank you,” she just smiled, a hand on Gabriela’s shoulder.


	61. 61

Zac had been confined to the motel room for days on end and he was going absolutely stir crazy. Davison and Carlson had been giving them updates from both Dallas and Tulsa, but the brothers along with Rick had stayed in Fort Worth. The task force along with forensics had cleaned out the facility where Zac had been found, but the building was under guard and still off limits. With everything accompanying them, the force had headed back into Dallas – Carlson with them.  
Isaac was just returning to the room with take out when Rick’s phone rang.  
“Astley,” he answered, “oh hey Carlson…”  
Zac looked up from where he was sitting at the table as Isaac dropped the food there.  
“Yeah, sure, I know. Uh huh. No, I don’t think we were expecting that at all. I’ll let them know, they might want to head on over…”  
Isaac gave Zac a questioning look. He just shrugged.  
“Thanks Carlson,” Rick hung up.  
“What was that about?” Zac asked, knowing by the lack of reaction on Rick’s part that it wasn’t a lead.  
“They’re lining up the personal effects they found at the base,” Rick revealed, “in Dallas. Carlson thinks they might have found your brother’s wedding ring, but someone needs to go down and verify it before…”  
He trailed off, not wanting to say ‘before it can be returned to Natalie’. Zac started tapping his fingers on the table.  
“Should we split up?” he suggested.  
“No,” Isaac insisted, “we don’t exactly have the best history when it comes to that.”  
“Touché. So then… I guess we should go to Dallas.”  
“Really?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
“It’s been almost a week,” Zac shook his head, “I don’t know that spending another week in this room is going to help any. And at least if we go to Dallas we’re doing something productive.”  
Rick looked between them as Isaac sighed and sat down across from Zac.  
“You’re right,” he nodded, “as much as I hate to say it. As much as I hate to have to come here and not leave with Tay…”  
“Hey you and me both,” Zac insisted, “I either expected to leave with Tay or not at all.”  
There was a moment of silence as a sombre mood hit the room. Isaac broke it by starting to give out the food.  
“I should probably head back to Tulsa anyway,” Rick suggested, “for one, we need someone near home. And another… I’m sorry, but I just need to get home.”  
“We get it, it’s okay,” Zac assured, “it’s killing us not being home with our families too. There’s no reason we should all suffer for it.”  
Rick hesitated awkwardly, not wanting them to think that he was giving up.  
“We should hire a car,” Zac suggested.  
“Sounds like a plan,” Isaac nodded.  
“Are you guys sure you don’t want to come back?” Rick asked suddenly, “I’m sure the girls would appreciate having you back around at the very least. And you’ll still get updated constantly.”  
“I’m not ready,” Isaac shook his head, making Zac look up.  
“Not ready for what?” Rick frowned.  
“I’m not ready to go back and face Natalie, knowing that I’ve failed,” Isaac admitted sullenly.


	62. 62

Taylor woke up sometime in the night hearing heavy footsteps. He’d come to recognise the sound of Ibby, Siemme, Tranu and Lukka’s footfalls, so he knew that it wasn’t them. When the footsteps stopped at his gate, he looked up.  
The gate opened and he saw a middle aged Mexican standing there. He recognised him from the breakfast hall but hadn’t seen him anywhere else. Behind him were another three men roughly about the same age. They all made their way into the stall, the first one grabbing Taylor by the shoulder and roughly pulling him to his feet. Taylor groaned as he quickly tried to wake himself up, only absently noticing the stench of alcohol on the man’s breath.  
They spoke in Spanish to each other as one of them disconnected Taylor’s chain before he was dragged out of the stall. He didn’t begin to panic until he saw where they were going. He looked up to find himself in the stable yard, the firelight burning around and spectators galore.  
“No, no, no!” he dug his heels into the dirt.  
When they realised he was resisting he was shoved down into the dirt face first. Two of them circled him, yelling in Spanish, as the third grabbed the chain and pulled upward. Taylor’s hands flew to the collar, trying to hold it so his neck didn’t twist from the pressure even as it pulled him to his feet again. He was caught off guard by one of the men hitting him across the face.  
He cried out in surprise, and would have fallen to his knees if the collar hadn’t have kept him up.  
“Please don’t, please don’t…” he was saying under his breath as he was dragged by the neck toward the pole.  
The two who’d been circling him’s voices were raising to shouts, only making him panic more. They almost seemed to be trying to demand something of him, but of course Taylor had no idea what any of them were saying. When one of them got in his face so close that he was spitting, he lost it.  
“I don’t know what you’re saying!” he exclaimed with desperation, “I don’t know Spanish! Please! Let me go!”  
He had the wind knocked out of him as he was thrown against the pole, one of the men grabbing his wrists and chaining them together on the other side. Suddenly he felt someone grab his hair and shove his head against the pole, dazing him. A trickle of blood from his forehead left a trail like a red tear down the side of his face.  
When the chains were secure he was left there, tentatively holding his head against the pole. He could feel himself shaking, and when he heard the test crack of the whip he squeezed his eyes shut.  
A moment later, a gunshot rang out.  
Taylor froze as he listened to a woman’s voice screaming Spanish orders. His eyes opened only when he realised it was his Mistress. He looked over his shoulder to see her holding a handgun pointed in the air as she yelled at the suddenly sheepish men. When she lowered the gun at one of them, they rushed over to unchain Taylor’s wrists. He noticed for the first time the machete in the man’s belt. Not breathing any easier he hugged himself once he was free.  
She made her way over to him, taking the chain of his collar into her other hand as she continued to yell. Taylor’s eyes hit the ground, knowing that whatever happened this night was going to be because of him.  
When her voice had lowered to her normal tones, she gave a tug on his leash as a signal to get moving. He obediently followed her out of the yards, giving a subtle glance up to where he knew Ibby, Siemme, Tranu and Lukka must have been watching. Watching, and unable to help.  
He followed her in silence all the way back up to the study.


	63. 63

“Sorry about that,” she broke the silence once they were safely inside.  
Taylor silently made his way to his usual spot and knelt. She fetched a cloth from her desk and made her way over to him, tending to the wound on his forehead.  
“Are you alright?” she asked, noting his silence.  
Taylor nodded.  
“Just shaken, Miss,” he admitted, closing his eyes as he absently rubbed his wrists.  
“Carlos should know better,” she tutted, “your collar is golden for a reason.”  
Taylor didn’t respond as he tried to quash the million questions running through his head. If he needed to know something, he would be told.  
She sighed once she’d cleaned the blood away, retreating to her desk to find a bandage.  
“May I ask a question, Miss?” he suddenly built up the courage to ask.  
She paused a moment. He’d never asked anything like that before.  
“By all means,” she responded, making her way back to him and securing the bandage to his forehead.  
Taylor took a deep breath, trying to think of how to word it.  
“Why do they do it?” he asked as he kept his eyes down.  
“I’d like to say he’s trying to make a point,” the woman began snidely, “but Carlos likes his liquor. He tends to get carried away. He does it for fun.”  
Taylor closed his eyes again as if processing what she’d said.  
“Would they have killed me?” he asked.  
“If I hadn’t been there? Quite possibly.”  
He opened his eyes again as she finished up and stood in front of him.  
“He also doesn’t like Americans,” she added, “unfortunately you stand out here.”  
Taylor had noticed every morning that he was the only white man in the breakfast hall. Part of the reason he was glad to be hidden behind her on the floor.  
“Why did you choose me?” he asked, hoping he wasn’t overstepping his boundaries by asking too much.  
He looked up, but didn’t hold eye contact.  
“Do you remember…” the woman leant forward slightly making him nervous, “the very first thing you ever said in my presence?”  
Taylor frowned as he thought back.  
“I wanted to know where my brother was,” he looked up curiously.  
“Right,” she nodded, “for me, that showed protectiveness. You were more worried for your brother than you were for your own situation. I hoped that one day you would show the same concern for my children.”  
Taylor blushed, lowering his eyes again.  
“I spent a long time looking for someone like you,” she admitted, “over a year, in fact. I didn’t expect to have to go all the way to Dallas. But considering your progress with them over the last few days, I’m very glad that I did.”  
“Thank you Miss,” Taylor said softly, his mind turned back to worrying for Zac all of a sudden.  
“I’d like you to spend the night here,” she insisted, stooping to loop his chain around the leg of the desk, “Carlos won’t dare bother you while you’re here. In the morning, we’ll return to normal.”  
Taylor just nodded, waiting until she walked out before awkwardly settling down onto the rug.


	64. 64

After a restless night on the floor of the study, Taylor was woken up by the woman returning to the room. Hurriedly trying to blink the sleep away, he pulled himself up onto his hands and knees and sat back into his usual position.  
“How are you this morning, Taylor?” she asked as she closed the door.  
She could already see the part of his face where he’d been hit swelling and bruising. He waited a moment to answer her so that he could be sure of being honest.  
“Much better, Miss,” he said as he rubbed his eyes.  
“Good. I’ve cancelled your session with the children this morning to give you a chance to clean yourself up,” she said as she went to sit at the desk.  
Taylor wasn’t sure if he should thank her or not, so he opted to remain silent. When he was awake enough to register his headache, he put a hand to his head.  
“What is it?” she asked as she watched him.  
“Just a headache Miss,” Taylor gave her a glance before returning his eyes to the floor.  
“Understandable. Juan hits hard.”  
Taylor closed his eyes, leaning into his hand for a moment before returning it to his lap.  
“I’ll have Ibby take you to the bathroom when he comes in,” she informed him, “your new clothes have also arrived. I’ve left some there for you.”  
“Thank you Miss.”  
He waited patiently as she began her morning’s work, Ibby not taking much longer to turn up. He took him to the bathroom as instructed, Taylor finding a small pile of clothes there as she’d said. They included jeans and a black button-down shirt. He couldn’t help but be grateful to be back to wearing some ‘normal’ clothes.

*

Zac just stared at the ring as he turned it over in his fingers. He remembered all too well the day it had been taken from his brother. He was so engrossed in the memory that he didn’t hear Isaac talking to him until he’d put a hand on his shoulder.  
“Rick’s leaving,” he informed him.  
Zac clutched the ring in his fist and turned to look at where Rick was packing his car up. He made his way over.  
“Thank you for everything,” he said sincerely, giving Rick a hug, “including keeping Ike out of trouble.”  
“Hey, it’s my job, right?” Rick chuckled, giving him a pat on the back.  
When he let go he gave Isaac a hug too.  
“I’d better see you guys back in Tulsa soon, okay?”  
“Oh we’ll be there the second we find Tay,” Isaac assured, “and if we don’t…”  
“We can’t avoid it forever,” Zac cut him off, “or you know, our wives.”  
“They might start hunting you down,” Rick mused as he opened the car door.  
“Don’t think Kate hasn’t already threatened to,” Zac smirked in reply.  
Rick got in and started the car as the brothers stood by the window.  
“Let me know if you hear anything, yeah?” he looked up.  
“You’ll be first to know,” Isaac insisted.  
“Well, second. After Nat,” Zac corrected, “technically fourth after us. Or fifth after whoever tells us.”  
“Bye guys,” Rick smirked, before pulling out of the station car park and heading down the road.


	65. 65

The following few mornings at breakfast were tense. Taylor was close enough to Carlos to know that he was being stared at, but subtle glances every now and then confirmed the other men that had been there were also nearby and also staring. He somehow felt that it wouldn’t have been as nerve-wracking an experience if he hadn’t known that they hated him so much just for being American that they actually didn’t care if they killed him.  
The second morning he resumed his tutoring of the children. While it helped take his mind off the incident, the woman was well aware that his concentration had suffered. Being that he was trying to teach them English while he barely knew a word of Spanish it was already hard enough.  
Four or five days later, after the children left the study, she indicated for him to follow her out. Finding it unusual both because they usually stayed there for the afternoon and because she didn’t bother replacing the chain to his collar, he obediently followed.  
They didn’t go far. She used a key attached to her belt to unlock a door at the end of the hall, stepping back so that Taylor could walk through. Looking through cautiously, he complied. He stopped when he saw what was in the room.  
“It’s old and may need some work,” the woman said as she closed the door behind them, stepping around him, “but it’s all we have I’m afraid.”  
Taylor looked across at her not daring to be presumptuous. When she waved him forward, he could barely hold himself back enough to walk – not run – over to the dusty grand piano set on a raised platform in the otherwise empty room.  
He lifted the cover and brushed his hands over the dust on the keys. Giving her a glance to make sure she approved, he tested the middle C. He winced a little when he heard how out of tune it was.  
“It will be at least another week until your finger has healed enough to play, I’d presume,” she told him, “I’d hope you could be ready to start with Gabriela by then? I can give you most afternoons here to prepare.”  
Taylor did some quick calculations in his head. He wasn’t an expert by any means, but if he had that long to work on it he was sure he could clean it up and have it in tune by that time.  
“Yes Miss,” he finally replied with a nod.  
“Good,” she nodded in return, “then I’ll leave you to it. Ibby will fetch you for your evening meal.”  
“Thank you Miss,” Taylor looked up with genuine appreciation.  
She offered him a small smile before leaving the room. Taylor barely heard the lock click into place as his fingers trailed over the keys again. Starting from the right, he made his way down to check if any of the keys were actually in tune. Thankfully it wasn’t out as badly as he’d feared.  
Stepping around to the back he raised the main lid. At least the strings didn’t look brittle.  
He hit the C again, watching where the hammer hit. It took him a few minutes to get back into the hang of it, but he soon found himself working on autopilot. As if unlocking something that had been stored away in the back of his mind for what felt like an eternity. Suddenly he was able to concentrate on this, and only this, and it almost felt like… home.  
Time flew and he wasn’t even halfway done by the time he heard the door unlocking. He looked up regrettably to see Ibby in the doorway, indicating for him to leave with him.  
He closed up the piano, wishing he had something to cover it with, before giving it one last glance and following Ibby out.  
He was taken down to the kitchen where Siemme gave him a plate of food that he could take back to his stall for the night.


	66. 66

“Are you ready?”  
Zac jumped as Isaac’s hand appeared on his shoulder. He hadn’t expected to be so nervous. He knew that facing the media was something he’d have to do eventually, but now that the moment was here… he just wished it could be over and done with already.  
The brothers had finally returned to Tulsa a couple of days prior. Both of them had spent a lot of time with Natalie, barely having time to adjust to being home before the questions had started firing from all angles. While in the past the media coverage had been a welcome help into being able to locate Taylor, they’d all managed to keep this situation hushed until now because of the sensitive nature.  
Davison had worked with them tirelessly the night before to differentiate exactly what they could and could not say about what the task force was doing. There had already been media coverage related to the raid on the base where Zac had been found, but they’d managed to keep his name out of it at the time. Since then of course the rumours had been flying, but this 3CG press conference was where it would all be coming out. They hadn’t even fronted the reporters yet and people were already asking them where Taylor was.  
“No,” Zac replied honestly.  
“Me neither.”  
Zac took a deep breath and looked up as Davison made his way over in full uniform.  
“We’ll head out in a moment,” he informed them, “just remember… if anything gets too hard or you’re not sure if you can answer, just leave it to me.”  
“Thanks,” Isaac nodded, before taking a peek out at the crowd.  
“Any problems?” Davison looked between them.  
“Just nerves,” Zac replied.  
“You don’t have to tell them anything you don’t want to,” Davison reminded him, “it’s no one’s business what you went through but your own.”  
“I’ll offer up anything that helps get Tay back,” Zac insisted with a nod.  
“And that’ll be what the focus is on today,” Davison reminded them, “seeking the public’s assistance for anyone that may have seen him. If he wasn’t in Fort Worth, he had to have been moved. If he was moved, there’s a chance someone saw something. It has been… how long?”  
“A month. Almost to the day,” Isaac said sullenly.  
“Right. That’s a long time for no one to see anything,” Davison insisted, “maybe we’ll get lucky and someone in on the operation will form a conscience.”  
Zac smirked, knowing there wouldn’t be much luck there. Most of those interrogated after the raids had suddenly not known how to speak English, and those that were obviously American or at the very least English-speaking had said nothing.  
“Is Taylor’s wife here?”  
“No,” Zac shook his head, “but she’ll be watching from home.”  
“We’re almost ready to go live,” a woman with a headset appeared aside the curtain separating them from the crowd.  
Davison gave her a nod, then looked to Zac.  
“Here we go,” he clapped his hands together.  
Isaac offered him a reassuring smile, before holding the curtain aside as they stepped out to be greeted by a hundred camera flashes.


	67. 67

Taylor was startled awake by the sound of a nearby wolf whistle. As soon as he registered the whistle, he heard a following gunshot.  
Sitting up quickly, he soon saw the smoke filling his stall.  
“Oh no,” he breathed, already feeling it seeping into his lungs.  
He scrambled to his feet and went to the gate. He could feel the heat and knew the fire was close. When he looked through the slats at his eye level, he gulped when he saw just how close it was.  
The stables were on fire.  
He tapped his fingers on the gate as he decided quickly. He headed over to where his chain was mounted, for the first time trying to decipher how it was released. He hadn’t been there long when he heard the gate opening and turned to see Ibby rushing in.  
“Ibby! Help!” he coughed, slapping the wall with his hand before doubling over as he tried to catch his breath.  
Ibby was already at the chain, pulling it off and handing Taylor the end of it. With a hand on his back he guided him out of the stall and to the left. When Taylor looked back he saw the stall two doors down was completely alight, the one next door just starting to burn. Two of the younger workers were struggling to contain it with buckets of water fetched from the horse trough, and as they made their way down to the house path Ibby was setting the horses free.  
Once they were clear of the stable Taylor had another coughing fit. He didn’t see Juan until he was on top of him.  
Grabbing the chain and wrapping it around his hand, he pulled Taylor up before punching him across the face the same way he had the first time they’d met. Unable to duck away Taylor grabbed onto the chain with his right hand while trying to shield himself with his left. It was a pitiful attempt but it was all he could muster while he could barely breathe.  
Juan lay into him as Ibby ran off, soon rendering him dazed and on the ground. Taylor stayed down not wanting to anger him further by making an attempt to get away but still received multiple kicks in the side for his efforts. He looked up only when he heard voices over him, soon seeing that Carlos had appeared at Juan’s side. There was a pistol in his hand.  
Closing his eyes Taylor wondered if this would be it before hearing a familiar scream in the distance.  
He clenched his fists and pulled himself up to his elbows in time to see his Mistress making her way down – still in her nightclothes. Juan ran, but Carlos stood his ground and yelled back at her. Very aware that he was the one with the gun this time, Taylor watched like a hawk as the altercation played out.  
Finally, Carlos walked away. Taylor could have cried in relief but had barely put his head in his hands before he felt the chain pulling him up again. Hurriedly getting himself to his feet, he could tell she wasn’t at all happy.  
She led him down to the house without giving him a chance to look back. Leading him into the study she secured his chain to the desk again before stalking out and locking the door. Taking a moment to gather himself, Taylor soon spotted blood on the floorboards beside the rug.  
He quickly checked himself over, soon deciphering that the blood was coming from his bottom lip which had split open from one of the punches. He also had some scrapes down his side from the kicks and could feel a bump already appearing on his head.  
Continuing to cough as the smoke took its time dissipating from his lungs, he sat up a while longer in case the woman came back. When she didn’t, he unsuccessfully tried to get back to sleep.


	68. 68

When she returned to the study the following morning, she found him sitting on the floor with his back against the desk. His face had already bruised and his lip was an angry red.  
“I’m sorry, Miss,” he said the moment he saw her, gingerly moving back to the rug and kneeling up.  
“For what?” she still didn’t sound happy as she closed the door and made her way over.  
“I bled on the floor,” Taylor looked ashamed, indicating where the spots were, “and… I displeased them in some way. I must have. I’m so sorry.”  
“Carlos is displeased because you are white,” the woman said snidely, making her way to the desk and fetching some tissues.  
She handed them to him and he used them to carefully clean the blood from the floor. Thankfully they hadn’t appeared to stain the wood through the lacquer.  
“You’re going to have to stay away from the children again for a few days. I can’t have their tutor looking like this.”  
Taylor sat back onto his legs again once he’d finished, handing her the tissues when she held out her hand. She binned them and then turned to him with a sigh.  
“This is a problem,” she folded her arms, “we lost a good horse and a good slave in their attempt to kill you last night.”  
Taylor looked up at the mention of the slave.  
“What happened?” she demanded, eyes cold.  
Taylor closed his eyes as he tried to remember.  
“Someone whistled and woke me up in time,” he said softly, “I heard a gunshot. Ibby came to help me. He was bringing me to you when they jumped me.”  
“The whistle is a sign of danger among the lower ranks,” she nodded, “the slave who sounded it was shot for doing so, because they’d set the stables alight for a reason.”  
Taylor frowned worriedly as he started to feel sick. Someone had died trying to warn him last night.  
She tapped her fingers against her arm as she watched him thoughtfully.  
“How is the piano coming? You’ve been at it for days.”  
“Well. I’ve almost finished, Miss,” Taylor glanced up, “it should only be another day.”  
“Good. I’ll have you concentrate on that then. Your finger should be about healed in time for that.”  
“Yes Miss,” Taylor nodded, absently touching the splint with his other hand.  
The pain was nothing more than a dull ache anymore, especially in comparison to his other current injuries. He couldn’t honestly tell if it had healed properly or not.  
“I’ll let you get cleaned up in the bathroom first,” she said before reaching down to grab his chain.  
He quickly stood, pausing a moment when he did so as he adjusted from the dizzy spell it caused. She waited until their eyes met before leading him from the room. As mentioned she took him straight to the bathroom where he was able to have a shower and clean himself up. He knew he was going to be in pain for a good week or so until the welts went down and the ones on his side were surprisingly large.  
He found another change of clothes – the same style jeans and shirt that he’d assumed was his uniform. By the time he was done the woman had opened the door again, thankfully after he’d dressed again.  
“Come on,” she nodded.  
Taylor handed her the chain which hadn’t been disconnected, and let her lead him back to the piano room.


	69. 69

Taylor was beginning to feel like the piano room was the safest room in the entire building. Constantly locked in alone, he didn’t have to worry about constantly pleasing anyone or keeping to himself. It was just him and the piano.  
This first full day in the room he knew he’d finish restoring it to at the very least a playable state. So he took his time, enjoying the moments alone.  
It was after dark when he heard the key turning in the lock and he looked up from playing with a hammer to see that Ibby had brought him something to eat. Having not eaten all day, relieved wasn’t quite the word he needed.  
He greeted him halfway into the room, taking the plate and setting it on the floor. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts he began trying to work out a way to communicate with the man who appeared to be one of very few friends he had in this place.  
He took hold of his collar, and tried to make the symbol of a gun with his hand. Ibby watched him carefully, knowing what he was trying to do. When Taylor couldn’t do any better than that Ibby paused for thought.  
He soon made a similar hand gesture, this time making the sound of the bang that accompanied it.  
“Yes,” Taylor nodded, hoping he was getting it.  
He touched his collar again, reached over to touch Ibby’s, and then made the gun symbol again. Ibby’s face fell.  
“Tranu,” he said in response, finally figuring out that Taylor was asking who’d been killed.  
Taylor’s face lost colour. He’d hoped that maybe he hadn’t known who it had been.  
“Taylor,” Ibby said suddenly, catching his attention again.  
He reached out carefully, tracing a finger delicately around the welts on Taylor’s face and then down to his split lip which had already scabbed over. Taylor waited until he was done, then turned to the side and raised his shirt a little so that Ibby could see the welts and bruises down his side.  
Ibby looked sad for a moment, before reaching out to rub Taylor’s shoulder. By the expression on his face Taylor could sense that he was asking if he was alright, and he just nodded in response. The longer they stood there the more frustrated he got that he couldn’t just talk to this man, but he knew instinctively that it was half the point of him being there.  
Ibby made some sort of sign by lowering his hand over his face, before pointing to the window. Taylor gave him a curious look before Ibby waved as if to say goodbye.  
“Oh, goodnight,” Taylor realised, smiling as he registered the sign.  
He made the same signal with his hand before Ibby turned to leave the room. He wondered for a moment at not being returned to either the stable or the study, but looking back at the piano he really couldn’t be happier. Disregarding the hard floor to sleep on. It also meant sleeping free of the chain for the first time since he’d arrived.  
When he heard the lock click into place he went to fetch his plate, trying not to eat too fast and make himself sick. When he’d finished he set it by the door in case anyone came to collect it, and headed straight back for the piano.  
He tested the key to figure out which hammer he’d been fiddling with and got straight back to work. If he’d be here all night – and possibly the next day, considering his tutoring sessions had been cancelled for now – he could have it up and running by the morning.  
He paused as he glanced at the window, unsure of the time. He decided once he finished the key he was working on that he’d try and get some sleep.


	70. 70

_“Loving you… like I never have before. I’m needing you… just to open up the door. If begging you… might somehow turn the tides, then tell me to… I’ve got to get this off my mind.”_

Taylor leant in to the piano as his fingers graced the keys. He’d waited until daylight and made sure he heard people around so that he wouldn’t be so loud as to wake anyone up before he’d started. But the pull was so great that he couldn’t keep away from the newly furnished piano any longer.

_“I never thought I’d be speaking these words, never thought I’d find a way… another day alone is more than I can take… Won’t you save me? ‘Cause saving’s what I need… I just want to be by your side…”_

For the first time he was able to completely and utterly let his guard down, feeling completely at one and at home with the music. While he kept his eyes closed he could almost imagine being there with his brothers again. The ache in his ring finger the only real reminder that he wasn’t home at all.

_“Won’t you save me? I don’t want to be… just drifting through the sea, of life… Won’t you listen please? Baby don’t walk out that door… I’m on my knees, you’re all I’m living for…”_

He shook the hair out of his eyes as he went into the second chorus, his right knee bouncing in direct conflict with the wounds in his side. But he didn’t care.

_“Suddenly the sky is falling, could it be it’s too late for me? And if I never said I’m sorry, then I’m wrong yes I’m wrong… Then I hear my spirit calling, I’m wondering if she’s longing for me… I did not know that I can’t live without her…”_

He let his fingers play over the keys as he trailed off vocally, keeping his eyes closed as he leant back in his seat. Passion seeping through his fingers as if it were a last chance escape. As he launched into the final chorus he ignored the tears that escaped his eyes. Stubbornly keeping them closed he continued his façade right up until the end.

_“Won’t you save me? Yeah, won’t you save me? Won’t you save me…?”_

He paused when the song ended, barely believing that it was over already.  
“Who were you singing that for?”  
Taylor almost jumped out of his skin as he looked up to see the woman standing by the door, Ibby by her side. He quickly wiped his eyes, not sure if he should stand up and back off or not.  
“I’m sorry Miss,” he apologised, embarrassed.  
“Don’t be,” she stepped forward, coming to rest a hand on the edge of the piano.  
His eyes followed her movement, but didn’t look up.  
“Who were you singing that for?” she asked again.  
Taylor hesitated, swallowing hard.  
“Her name is Natalie,” he admitted finally.  
“She means a lot to you,” Taylor noticed it was more of a statement than a question, and was grateful, “you have a wonderful voice.”  
“Thank you Miss,” Taylor closed his eyes again for a moment, trying to hold onto the feeling as it dissipated.  
“I’ll give you two more days,” she said decidedly, “before I’ll start you teaching Gabriela. Hopefully your face will look better by then.”  
“Thank you Miss,” Taylor bowed his head, “may I ask a question?”  
“You may ask questions, Taylor. You don’t need to ask to ask.”  
“Is there anything in particular you’d like me to teach her?” he asked, face flushing red again.  
“I’ll leave that to your discretion,” she decided, “something in English, I’d assume.”


	71. 71

In the days since the press conference, the Hansons had gone through a complete emotional rollercoaster. The tips had come flooding in, but each one proved to be less useful than the last. Davison had taken care not to get their hopes up about anything they heard, but when there were constant rumours flying around and the media remaining on their back about every little detail, it was hard to not get caught up in the hype.  
Carlson was a part of the now split task force that had returned to Tulsa – the other half remaining in Dallas. Knowing that the abduction had originated in Tulsa and that Nate had obviously built himself a life there, they remained interested in keeping the main focus of the Devereux investigation stationed there. Dallas was a whole other story, and while half the task force remained dedicated to the investigation there, that was more a national incident now and some of the top agents from New York and Washington were flown in to take it over.  
Being that it was impossible to get back to any sort of normal work routine without Taylor around, Isaac and Zac had spent the time as if on holiday – just spending time with their families. Zac especially had been careful to take a step back from the media coverage considering his involvement, which had only made them more hungry to begin with. However as the days wore on only the dedicated few remained on the story as the world moved on to more interesting headlines.  
Davison had begun keeping them updated by calling Isaac once every few days, and they in turn kept Rick informed. But when the news began to be repetitive Isaac assured Davison he didn’t have to call unless they had a real lead.  
Isaac was still having a hard time coming to terms with how close he’d originally been to capturing Nate himself. The ‘what ifs’ had been killing him, and Zac was well aware. When the story came out of how Isaac had spoken to him Zac hadn’t taken the news very easily. But it was now almost a month and a half and his primary focus had well and truly moved on. He hoped Isaac’s would soon, too.  
The brothers had kept up the daily phone calls regardless of any other news shared.  
“So how about that local sports team?”  
“Is it really getting that bad?” Isaac smirked.  
“Well, no. But the only other thing I have to talk about right now…”  
Isaac waited as Zac gathered his thoughts.  
“Okay. I figured out how to fill the gap in that song Tay was working on.”  
“Really?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
“Yeah, but… you know. I don’t know if I should.”  
Isaac scratched his head, glancing idly over at a guitar case sitting in the corner.  
“What are you doing tomorrow?” he asked suddenly.  
“Same thing I’ve been doing every day. Plotting to take over the world.”  
“Come over in the morning,” Isaac gave a small smile, “and we’ll see what we can do about it.”  
“Do you remember the piano parts?”  
“I’m sure we can figure it out. Besides, there are recordings somewhere.”  
“Pretty sure they’d be at Nat’s place.”  
“Want to stop over on your way here then?”  
“I could, I could. Anything else I should get while I’m there?”  
“Ah… I think we’re pretty well covered. Unless you think there’s something else you’ll need?”  
“I’m good. See you about eight?”


	72. 72

Taylor’s tutoring had resumed two days after he’d finished work on the piano. While his regular schedule had always involved all three of the woman’s children for a few hours each morning to teach them English, he now also had Gabriela in the afternoons for piano lessons. Thankfully she already seemed to be a fast learner, and she picked up the scales he taught her very easily. Also much like the mornings, he was never left alone with her. Instead of her mother as the escort though, she had a man about Taylor’s age who was evidently – by the physical features – a relative. He didn’t say a word to Taylor while he was in the room, which had him slightly unnerved.  
The day he began tutoring again was also the day he returned to the stables at night. The damaged ones had been cleared out and tentatively rebuilt, but his had been barely touched. The first night was spent restless as he worried about Carlos and Juan making a repeat attempt before he finally managed to convince himself that it may have been their plan all along – just to give him sleepless nights. In the end, he slept.  
It had been almost a week of the new schedule when he was working with the boys on some translations from an old exercise book. Gabriela was sitting by the window using the light to do some colouring when they suddenly heard gunshots off in the distance. Gabriela went to the window to look out, her mother quickly flanking her. There was no mistaking the worried look on her face.  
“What is it?” Taylor asked nervously, trying not to worry the twins.  
“A raid,” she breathed.  
She rushed back to the desk, grabbing her pistol from the top drawer and slipping it into her belt.  
“Raid?” Taylor frowned, looking towards the window.  
She returned to rush Gabriela over to Taylor before unhooking the leash from his collar. Definitely worried now, he stood.  
“I need you to take the children down to the cellar. Under the kitchen. Keep them safe,” she said sternly.  
“Yes Miss,” Taylor nodded, still frowning.  
“Go. Now!” she indicated the door.  
Taylor’s protective instincts immediately took over, and he rushed Gabriela to the door while taking the twins’ hands in his own. As he glanced over his shoulder he saw the woman following as he led them down to the kitchen.  
He found the cellar door and jumped down the ladder, looking up to catch the boys as they came down and then helping Gabriela make her own way down. As he looked up again he saw the woman close the door after them, a heavy bolt being slid across the outside cutting off their main source of light.  
“Taylor? What’s happening?” came David’s voice meekly.  
Taylor looked over to where a single flame-lit lantern sat, and quickly made his way over to grab it. He used it to begin seeking out other lanterns he could light.  
“I don’t know,” he admitted, trying to think of how to word it so that they would understand, “we just need to stay here for a while, that’s all.”  
As he lit the second lantern he found, he looked up as he heard footsteps overhead. Gladly they didn’t stop.  
Gabriela said something to the boys in Spanish, making them shake their heads. Even underground they could hear the gunfire getting closer.  
“This is gonna be a long day,” Taylor said to himself under his breath.


	73. 73

Once Taylor had lit all the lanterns he could find, he’d looked around the cellar for anything that could help them. He’d managed to move a couple of wine barrels to make a subtle hiding place in case they needed one, and he finally managed to settle the kids down with a finding game pertaining to dates and symbols on the bottles of wine stored there.  
Occasionally they heard footsteps overhead, but he only began to worry when they were slow-moving. Still the vast majority of them continued to move on from the kitchen upstairs.  
He had no idea how long they’d been down there when he heard a set of slow footsteps stop to move the bolt in the cellar door.  
He took a moment to realise what was happening before quickly ushering the kids into the hiding place he’d made.  
“Whatever happens, stay down,” he whispered, waiting for their nods.  
But by the time they got there, there was no time to hide himself before the door wrenched open and a rebel-looking man with a bandana covering half his face and an assault rifle in his hands jumped down into the cellar.  
His eyes – and his rifle – lifted to Taylor immediately.  
“Oh my God,” Taylor couldn’t help but say aloud as he quickly put his hands on his head.  
A second man with a similar description joined the first, and they conversed in Spanish as they kept their eye on him. The second man began to take a look around the cellar as the first watched Taylor, Taylor closing his eyes and praying silently that he didn’t find their hiding place.  
“American?” the first man suddenly realised.  
“Yes,” Taylor opened his eyes, worriedly.  
He didn’t dare move as the man edged closer, peering into his face. He said something to his associate in excited Spanish, before looking back to him.  
“Are you Taylor Hanson?”  
Taylor’s eyes immediately widened.  
“You know who I am?” he looked between them as the second man reappeared.  
He grabbed Taylor’s shoulder, turning him so he could see his face.  
“The Americans are trying hard to find you,” he said in a heavy accent.  
Taylor only gulped, unsure of where this was headed. But at least it was keeping the attention on him and not the kids.  
The two conversed in Spanish in harsh tones, keeping the rifle trained on him even as they didn’t keep watch. When they turned to him again he couldn’t help but take a step back.  
“Move,” the one with the rifle indicated for him to leave the cellar.  
Keeping in mind that he would be leading them away from the kids, he gladly stepped forward. He took his hands from his head only long enough to climb the ladder, stopping at the top when he saw a third rebel waiting for them. Returning his hands to his head he looked back for the others who were closing the door again on their way out. They stopped to tell the third man what was happening – Taylor hearing his name mentioned at least once – before he revealed a radio that had been hidden in his clothes and used it to contact someone else.  
“Outside,” he heard an order from behind him before being shoved in the back.  
Taylor made his way through the outside door, coming to the path that headed out to the stables. He couldn’t see anyone he knew out there but there was still plenty of gunfire around. And plenty of the bandana-clad rebels scouring the grounds.


	74. 74

As Taylor walked with the rebels out toward the stable yards, he couldn’t help but get the feeling he was being watched. In a way other than the obvious.  
He looked over his shoulder back towards the main house but still couldn’t see anyone he knew. One of the rebels took his shoulder in their hand, making him turn back. A moment later and close gunfire was heard, a man nearby falling to the ground dead.  
Taylor was pushed down to his knees as the rebels with him armed their rifles and fired in multiple directions overhead. He watched as more men fell, soon deciphering where the shots were coming from. One set from the stables, one set from the third floor of the house. His new captors were yet to realise the direction, but Taylor easily locked eyes with the stable sniper.  
Juan.  
Realising where his aim sat next, Taylor simply watched as the man to his right was gunned down. When the other rebel spun to fire towards the stables, Taylor leapt to his feet. Barely registering what he was doing he went for the rifle, managing to wrench it from the rebel’s grip with surprise to his advantage. Now that he had his height working for him as well, he easily pulled the man into a headlock as he heard another round of ammunition fire and hit their target dead on.  
Barely breathing he dropped the body, looking up in time to see Juan nod before readjusting his aim. As he realised he was now alone in the stable yard, Taylor ducked off to the side where there were trees to cover him. He watched as the fighting played out from the very spot that Ibby had taken him to that first night, before he carefully began to make his way back up to the house. Making sure to keep out of sight he managed to get himself back to the kitchen and to the cellar door.  
With a quick check to make sure that no one was watching, he made his way down and closed the door behind him again. When he reached the bottom of the ladder he almost fell over when he was enveloped by arms from both sides.  
“Hey guys,” he said quietly, smiling as he rubbed the twins’ heads.  
“Where you go Taylor?” Javier asked in broken English.  
“Never mind. We need to go and hide,” Taylor insisted.  
He took them back over to the corner, relieved to see that Gabriela was still there. He turned his back and sat down, scooting back into the dark corner, before letting the boys sit in his lap.  
He stayed with them like that until well after night fall. The next set of footsteps they heard on the ladder were that of the kids’ mother.  
She called to them in Spanish and they ran to her, leaving Taylor sitting in the dark corner. He waited until they’d had their little reunion before sidling out of his hiding place.  
“Taylor?” she seemed a little surprised when she saw him.  
“Yes Miss,” he bowed his head.  
“Juan told me what you did,” she gave him a sideways look, before giving Gabriela a pat on the back and nodding toward the ladder.  
Gabriela made her own way up, but Javier and David ran back to Taylor’s side. Taylor couldn’t help but smile a little before kneeling so that David could climb onto his back. Once he was up he walked over to the ladder, lifting Javier up so that he could climb out himself. Then he carried David up himself. At the top their mother told them to run off and play while she led Taylor back to the study.  
“Where were they taking you?” she asked the moment the door closed.  
“I don’t know Miss,” Taylor answered honestly, kneeling in his place on the rug.  
As she asked him what had happened, he opted to leave out that they’d known who he was.


	75. 75

“They knew who I was,” Taylor said openly with recent realisation.  
“I had a chance to get out, and I didn’t take it.”  
He was sitting with Ibby, Siemme and Lukka in their usual viewing spot, the other three men watching him with casual concern. They had no idea what he was saying – and Taylor knew this – but they could at the very least understand his tone. So even if they didn’t know what was being said, they could appreciate that he needed to say it.  
“They could have been willing to take me home for all I knew,” Taylor’s eyebrows rose as he hugged his knees, “and I just watched them die.”  
He gave Siemme a grateful glance as the boy gave his shoulder a supportive pat.  
“Of course they could have just wanted to use me as one of those political hostages or something, but I guess I’ll never really know,” he went on.  
He put his head in his hands and closed his eyes.  
“I’m so confused,” he whispered, “I can’t believe I let that happen.”  
He took a moment to pull himself together, and when he looked up it was just in time to see Carlos and Juan dragging another unsuspecting victim into the stable yard.  
“They’re doing it again,” he said softly, drawing his comrades’ attention to what he was seeing.  
Lukka cursed under his breath, and Taylor mused that he at least knew what that had meant.  
They watched as the slave was chained to the pole and again whipped. This time Taylor didn’t even flinch. He noticed idly how much he’d come to tolerate over the past couple of months, but wouldn’t let himself dwell on it.  
When it was over he made his way down with the others for the first time. Up close, the wounds were worse than he could have imagined. He was sure he saw bone. He waited as the boys managed to unhook the chains holding the man up, then helped Ibby as he caught him and helped him to his knees. The man was barely even conscious, and he could tell that he was unaware of even being helped.  
They carried him off to the side of one of the main sheds – somewhere Taylor hadn’t been before. When he got there he soon realised why they brought the injured there. It wasn’t much, but they’d seemed to accumulate what little medical supplies that they could and this was where they were stored.  
They set the man down on his stomach and the boys tended to his wounds with some kind of ointment before attempting to bandage his back with some scraps of cloth that used to be old shirts. They were unable to completely remove the chains from his wrists but Ibby had checked just to make sure there was no possible way.  
After making sure they’d done all they could, Ibby put a hand on Taylor’s shoulder to indicate that it was time to go. They left Lukka with the man while he, Ibby and Siemme headed back to the stables for the night.  
Taylor watched for the first time where they split up, realising that Siemme was also housed in a similar stall. He had a small lantern inside his, and a ragged pillow he used to sleep with. Ibby walked with him to his own stall so he didn’t see where he went afterward. Once the chain was once again attached to the wall, they gave each other the ‘goodnight’ sign before parting ways.  
Taylor settled down against the side wall as usual, wishing he was back in the piano room. The floor wasn’t anywhere near as comfortable as the hay, but it had been refreshing to be free of the chain for at least a couple of nights.


	76. 76

The following morning Taylor was woken up by the sound of his gate opening. When he looked up and saw that it was the woman instead of Ibby, he hurriedly got to his knees as he brushed himself off.  
“Taylor,” she nodded as she walked in.  
“Good morning Miss,” he held back a yawn.  
He flinched back a little as she unexpectedly released his collar from the leash, rather than the chain from the wall. He looked up at her in surprise.  
“I think you’ve proven yourself with yesterday’s antics that you don’t need to be led around,” she said in a soft tone, “just don’t make me regret the decision, okay Taylor?”  
Taylor nodded, if a little unnerved by the whole thing. He knew she must have been referring to his return to the children after he was taken by the raiders.  
Feeling slightly naked without the chain constantly attached, he followed her back to the house and into the breakfast hall.  
The children were glad to see him at their tutoring session, the boys both giving him big hugs. While they perhaps weren’t aware of the enormity of the situation at the time, they nonetheless knew that he’d helped them in a significant way.  
As the day wore on he began to gradually get used to his newfound freedoms. He still had an escort everywhere, but not having to be led around like a dog trained to heel was like a large victory for him. Which at another point in his life, he never could have imagined.  
Other small things also changed over the next couple of days, including a razor appearing in the bathroom. He gladly shaved his beard off the moment he was able to, and it made him realise how long his hair was starting to get again. It now covered the burn scars on the back of his neck at least.  
As he was returned to the stables at night, the chain was replaced. Thankful for the days free of it, he didn’t dare complain.

*

“We have a lead.”  
“What?” Isaac sat up in bed, rubbing his eye.  
“We have a lead. Your brother was taken to Mexico.”  
“What?” Isaac’s tone was lower.  
“We managed to track some satellite footage around Fort Worth and Waco about the time of the raids. We didn’t see it before, but a light aircraft was spotted heading South-“  
“Why did this take so long?” Isaac was out of the bed and had turned the light on, “did no one think of this earlier? Wasn’t the airport monitored?!”  
“It was, but too late. We had to go back a few days,” Davison responded calmly, “we’re lucky we spotted it as it was, it was a very small plane. Also I should inform you that since we haven’t been able to track it to a destination so far and we have no further footage to monitor, we can’t guarantee a hundred per cent that Taylor was on that plane.”  
“It’s a lead, and I’m taking it,” Isaac was already getting dressed, “now where did it go?”  
“It was headed for Tampico.”  
“That far?” Isaac frowned.  
“We haven’t confirmed a landing site, but there’s not really anywhere else to go on that side.”  
“Thanks Davison,” Isaac hung up abruptly and immediately dialled Zac’s number.  
“Zac? Get up. We’re going to Tampico.”


	77. 77

A heavy footstep in the hay was all the warning Taylor got before he felt the knee in his back.  
“Hello Taylor,” came an all-too familiar voice.  
“NO!” Taylor cried out, his right arm immediately swinging back to grab the knee.  
Nate saw it coming and grabbed it easily.  
“I’ve brought some old friends along,” he said snidely, as he quickly fastened a cable tie around Taylor’s wrist – attaching it to his left elbow.  
Realising what he was doing Taylor struggled harder, but Nate knew what he was doing. In seconds Taylor was restrained once again in the way he was the very first time they’d met.  
When he was done he grabbed Taylor by the hair and sat him back against the wall, roughly hitting his head back against the wooden panels. Taylor only cringed as he tried to catch his breath.  
“Now that’s better, isn’t it?” Nate grabbed his chin, looking it over appreciatively, “no more facial hair, and your hair is back to its proper length.”  
Taylor pulled himself out of Nate’s grip, falling onto his side slightly.  
“What do you want?” his voice shook.  
“What, a guy can’t call in on an old friend?” Nate feigned dejection.  
Taylor held back a roll of his eyes, twisting his wrists as he tested the bonds.  
“You got what you wanted. I can’t leave,” he said as he looked him in the eye, “so leave me be.”  
“Oh but this is too much fun,” Nate gave him a pat on the cheek.  
He stood up from where he’d been kneeling, grabbing hold of the length of chain as he did so. Taylor rushed to find his footing as he was pulled up by the throat.  
“Besides, I brought you a present.”  
Taylor’s eyes fell to where Nate reached into a pocket, pulling out a slender silver chain with a delicate crucifix on the end. Taylor’s breath caught in his throat as his eyes widened.  
“Where did you get that?” his voice shook even more.  
“We’ve been busy back in Tulsa, Trent and I…” Nate began tauntingly, swinging the chain and watching Taylor’s eyes follow it, “myself causing chaos… and Trent rectifying it. It was surprisingly easy to gain access to your house posing as an electrician when the wiring suddenly went askew.”  
“Leave my family alone,” Taylor lacked the warning tone he’d hope would come out.  
“I’m sorry, have you learnt nothing from your time here?” Nate frowned, “you’re talking as if I’d actually be interested in anything you have to say.”  
Taylor looked to the ceiling, a whole new wave of fear coursing through him now.  
“But never mind,” Nate brushed off, suddenly pulling him backwards by the chain.  
He began looping it over the lever against the wall where the end was fastened, stopping only when there was no leverage for Taylor to either kneel or stand up straight. He was caught at an awkward angle where his bent legs bore his weight.  
“As fun as it is to torment you, I’m actually here to torture your brother,” he revealed.  
“What?” Taylor was immediately confused as he struggled to balance himself.  
“I don’t appreciate being followed to the extent that I have been, and a little birdy tells me that your brother has figured out that you’re in Mexico,” Nate had pulled out his phone and started playing with it, “so I just need you to help me convince him to stay in Tulsa a little while longer. You can do that, can’t you?”  
“I don’t take orders from you,” Taylor said decidedly, finally allowing defiance in his eyes.  
“Then I guess you won’t need to talk,” familiar silver tape appeared in Nate’s hands.


	78. 78

“Are you sure you guys know what you’re doing?” Rick asked as Isaac help Zac pack the car.  
“Since when have we ever known what we’re doing?” Zac smirked.  
“But taking off to Tampico? By yourselves?!”  
Isaac reached for his phone as it rang, assuming it was Nikki calling. When he saw the screen he frowned.  
“What is it?” Zac noticed.  
“It’s a video call,” Isaac scratched his head, “from an unknown number.”  
“So answer it,” Zac stepped over.  
Isaac caught it just before it was about to cut out, taking a moment to realise who was on screen.  
“Nate,” his eyes narrowed.  
“Hello Isaac,” came Nate’s voice loud and clear, “how goes the search party?”  
Isaac looked up as Zac came to his side. Rick immediately headed for his car.  
“What do you want?” Zac demanded once he saw the screen.  
“Zac?” Nate turned his head for a moment, “what an… unexpected surprise. Aren’t you supposed to be chained in a hole somewhere?”  
“Someone doesn’t keep up with the news,” Zac couldn’t help himself.  
“And speaking of news,” Nate suddenly turned the phone so that Taylor was clearly visible in the background.  
“TAY!” they both exclaimed, Zac grabbing onto the phone but Isaac refusing to relinquish it.  
“I swear to God if you hurt him…” Isaac let the threat hang.  
“You’ll what?” Nate grabbed Taylor by the hair for emphasis as he struggled to keep his throat clear of the stagnant collar.  
“I-“  
“We,” Zac corrected.  
“-will hunt you down. We will hunt you the rest of your miserable life. And we will find you,” Isaac had deadly intent in his eyes, “and we will kill you if we have to.”  
Zac barely noticed Rick setting his laptop on the hood of the car, quickly opening it and typing away.  
“I would love to see you try. In fact, isn’t that what you’ve been trying to do for the past… oh, eight years?” Nate taunted, not letting Taylor go.  
“Not actively. But you’ve made one crucial mistake,” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
“And what’s that?” Nate decided to humour him.  
“You took MY brother.”  
“Our, our brother,” Zac scorned.  
“Keep him talking…” Rick muttered as his fingers flew over the laptop keys.  
“I’m shaking, Isaac. Really.”  
“So what, did you just call to gloat?” Zac’s eyes narrowed.  
Nate hesitated, then smiled. It was an unnerving move that put Zac on edge.  
“How about we say ‘hello’?” he suddenly turned to Taylor and ripped the tape from his mouth.  
Taylor barely took a second to recover before yelling; “Ike get Nat out of Tulsa! They’ve been to the house-!“  
He cut off when he realised Nate had disconnected the call, and received a blow across the jaw for his troubles. Nate immediately dialled another number and waited for an answer.  
“Take the Hanson girl,” was all he said, looking Taylor in the eye as he hung up.


	79. 79

“Dammit!” Rick cursed, hitting his hand on the hood.  
“What?” Zac looked to him.  
“Five more seconds, I swear-“  
“Rick, do you still have that hardware in your car?” Isaac’s eyes were almost glazed over as he looked to him.  
“Yeah, why?” he looked up.  
“Can that,” he pointed to the laptop, “we need to get to Tay’s. Natalie’s in danger.”  
“Crap,” Rick closed the computer and immediately high-tailed it back to the car, “I’ll get back on it as soon as I can!”  
“What are we gonna do?” Zac shook his head, “Nate’s gonna know either way!”  
“Look, we know Tay’s in Mexico, right?” Isaac said seriously, “and Nate is wherever Tay is. That means that Nate isn’t in Tulsa. Right now we need to use that.”  
Zac took a moment to catch his breath as Rick backed down the driveway and took off down the street with a roar of the engine.  
“I’m gonna get Nat and Kate to Georgia. With the kids,” he said finally.  
“Want me to come with?” Isaac offered, making Zac start to worry with how calm he seemed to be.  
“You get to Tay’s and check on them,” Zac insisted as he walked around the car to get in, “I’ll head home and get Kate ready.”  
“Okay,” Isaac agreed, heading straight for his own car.  
Without another word they tensely parted ways.

*

“That… was unwise,” Nate took Taylor’s jaw firmly in his grip, making him look him in the eye.  
“Now you’ll spend the rest of your life not knowing who got to her first.”  
Taylor’s eyes were welling up already, and the tears fell easily once Nate let go.  
“Please, leave her alone,” he begged.  
“Now, now, you brought this on yourself,” Nate tsked, “I was perfectly happy for you to have a verbal catch up with your brother, and you had to go and ruin it. Now whatever happens to Natalie will be on your head.”  
“This has nothing to do with her,” Taylor insisted, shaking his head, “your gripe is with me. Please. Do whatever you want with me but leave my family alone.”  
“But see, therein lies the problem,” Nate stepped closer making sure that he was in Taylor’s personal space, “because hurting your family hurts you.”  
“I am begging you,” Taylor reiterated.  
“I know, and I appreciate that,” Nate said softly, gently picking some hay out of Taylor’s hair, “but I’m afraid that’s not enough.”  
Taylor closed his eyes, trying to get a hold of himself.  
“Now, while you’re feeling unusually compliant…” Nate went on, “I do have a favour to ask. Well, really, another deal to strike with you.”  
“What?” Taylor opened his eyes again.  
“I don’t want your Mistress to know what happened here,” Nate insisted, “do you know what will happen if she finds out? Or rather, what I’ll have done?”  
Taylor didn’t reply, so Nate just smiled.  
“I’ll have them take your daughter.”


	80. 80

“That’s it,” Nate snapped his fingers in Taylor’s face before taking a step back, “that’s something I haven’t seen in a while.”  
“What?” Taylor’s voice was suddenly lower.  
“That,” Nate was pointing into his eyes, “you know, kicking a beaten dog is only fun for so long. You want the ones with a fighting spirit. One little mention of your daughter and you suddenly think you have something to fight for again.”  
He stepped back into Taylor’s personal space.  
“You know what they’ll do to her, don’t you?” he grinned.  
“If you lay one finger on her-“ Taylor’s threat was cut off by Nate slipping a hand around his throat and squeezing slightly.  
Taylor clenched his fists as he struggled to breathe for a moment.  
“I’d love to know what you think you’re capable of doing, really,” he said in a bored tone, “but once again, I don’t really care what you think.”  
He pulled the necklace from his pocket and held it up in front of Taylor’s face, before letting it fall into the hay at their feet. Taylor couldn’t look down if he’d wanted to, the collar making him keep his chin up.  
“Now,” Nate made sure he had his attention before letting go of his throat, “I’m even going to do you a favour. I’m going to go back to your Mistress and openly admit that I have upset you. I’ll even apologise for it. That should give you at least a day or two off from regular duties, right?”  
Taylor frowned as Nate turned away, realising the subtle hint behind his words.  
“You can’t leave me like this,” he pulled on his wrists again, “I can’t stay like this for a whole day!”  
“You’re a survivor, aren’t you Taylor?” Nate looked puzzled as he picked up the tape from where he’d discarded it.  
Taylor eyed it, knowing that if he needed to call for help this would be his last opportunity. He wished he had at least one hand free so he could let off a wolf whistle.  
“So survive,” Nate shrugged, snapping the tape open.  
“IBBY!” Taylor suddenly yelled before Nate closed the tape over his mouth.  
“You’ll be fine,” Nate assured, ripping the end of the tape and patting it against Taylor’s cheek.  
He replaced the roll in his jacket as Taylor squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to hyperventilate. He heard Nate’s footsteps leave the stall, closing the gate before heading down toward the house.  
He opened his eyes again once he was sure he was gone, desperately starting to twist his wrists again. He knew he couldn’t stay standing for much longer – his knees already felt like they were going to give way. Then he’d be left hanging to choke by the collar.  
He had no idea how long he’d been there when his mind began telling him that this could really be it. If they’d been told to stay away from him for up to two days, there was no way he’d still be alive by the time they found him.  
Just when he felt his legs start shaking alarmingly, his eyes shot open as he heard the gate rattle. Ibby opened it.  
He tried to cry out, muffled by the gag. Ibby saw the desperation in his eyes and immediately bolted for the chain, unhooking it from where Nate had coiled it and finally letting Taylor’s legs collapse from under him. He pulled the tape off and gave him a pat on the shoulder as Taylor coughed.  
“Thank you,” Taylor gave him a grateful glance, leaning forward as he caught his breath.  
Ibby checked his arms, soon seeing the cable ties, and sat back helplessly but still in support.


	81. 81

When Isaac finally made it to Taylor’s house, he saw Rick’s car parked on the sidewalk. Not seeing Rick anywhere, he cautiously pulled up behind it.  
It wasn’t long before a dark car came hurtling down the street, coming to a stop across the road. Not until the occupants stepped out did Isaac leave his own car.  
“Thanks for coming!” he called across as Davison and another officer in plain clothes made their way over.  
“Where’s Astley?” Davison looked up to the house.  
“I don’t know, I just got here myself,” Isaac admitted, “no sign of him.”  
Davison gave his officer a glance as Isaac noticed him subtly check that he had his weapon.  
“Stay out here in the car,” he said to him, “we’ll check the house over and give it the all clear.”  
“Thanks,” Isaac nodded, heading back for his car.  
Davison headed up the driveway as the officer made his way around the side of the house. Davison waited until the officer was long out of sight before knocking on the door. Isaac watched as the door opened and he stepped inside, one hand poised near his handgun as he did so.  
The door closed and Isaac sighed. A moment later his phone rang.  
“Yeah?”  
“Hey Ike,” came Rick’s voice, “we’re here. So far so good. Figured I’d wait until backup arrived before we moved out, just in case.”  
“Is everyone okay?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
“Everyone’s fine, Nat’s a little shaken. I could only tell her what I knew. You guys will have to fill her in.”  
“We will,” Isaac looked up the road, watching the cars coming and going for anyone who might have been watching the house, “but first we need to get her out of Tulsa. Have you heard from Zac?”  
“No but Nat said he called just before I got here,” Rick replied, “apparently Georgia is the plan?”  
“For now,” Isaac nodded, “once she’s out of the house and we’ve had time to think we might come up with something better.”  
“Have you thought about… what if this isn’t a short-term thing?” Rick had worry in his voice.  
“I’m assuming we’re going to hear from Nate again in the near future if this doesn’t pan out the way he expects it to. We don’t know exactly what he was planning, we just know Nat was involved somehow.”  
“What did Taylor say? Exactly?” Rick asked.  
“Just to get Nat out of Tulsa. Nate cut us off before he could say why.”  
“Damn.”  
“Have you tried the trace again?”  
“Doing that as we speak, now that Davison’s here. I couldn’t get an exact location, but it definitely came from the Tampico area.”  
“That means Tay was on that plane after all,” Isaac realised, his eyes settling on a white station wagon that had slowed down on approach to Taylor’s house.  
As it passed by he locked eyes with the driver. An older man with a shaggy blonde haircut and scraggly beard. It lasted mere seconds before the driver picked up speed and left the street.  
“Trent,” Isaac realised.  
“Huh?”  
“It was Trent,” Isaac frowned, “he just made me and took off. In a white wagon. I have the plate.”


	82. 82

Ibby had sat with Taylor for a long time, long after his breathing had returned to normal. He disappeared about the time that Taylor assumed breakfast would be ready, soon returning with a knife from the kitchen and using it to cut his wrists free. Taylor groaned in relief, finally able to rub them. He stopped when he saw how badly they were cut.  
He gave Ibby an appreciative smile, before Ibby indicated for Taylor to get up. He watched as Ibby went to unhook the chain completely, but just shook his head when Ibby looked at him expectantly.  
Ibby tried a few more times, but Taylor wasn’t willing to move. Eventually – but looking worried – Ibby handed Taylor the chain and left. As soon as he was out of sight, Taylor began rummaging in the hay by the back wall.  
It didn’t take long to come up with Natalie’s necklace. He untangled it from the hay it had fallen into, then sat back against the wall with it playing through his fingers.  
It was one he hadn’t seen in a long time. Last time he’d seen it, it had been tucked away in a jewellery box in their closet. Whoever had retrieved it had made sure that he’d be aware of the lengths they’d gone to in getting it. They’d been in his home. In his bedroom. In his wife’s closet.  
He rubbed his face tiredly, feeling the tears spring up again. He hoped with everything that he had that Isaac had made it to Natalie first.

*

It must have been sometime well after breakfast that Taylor heard footsteps again. When the gate opened he looked up to see the woman with Ibby close behind her.  
He quickly hid the necklace in his fist as he crawled up onto his knees.  
“I had Ibby watch the whole thing,” she said as she stepped in, “I don’t take kindly to strangers on my property.”  
Taylor frowned a little, wondering what she meant by that. With Ibby not knowing English he knew he couldn’t have relayed anything sensitive.  
“Nathaniel asked me to leave you be for a couple of days. He neglected to tell me what state he’d left you in. You’re lucky Ibby was here.”  
“Yes Miss,” Taylor wholeheartedly agreed.  
She paused, before walking closer. Leaning over she detached the chain from his collar, and not expecting the movement he fell back into a sitting position by the side wall again.  
“He’s scared you,” she realised, coiling the chain around her wrist before going to replace it on the wall.  
Taylor’s eyes watched her feet but he wouldn’t look up.  
“I’d like you to tell me what happened. Ibby did tell me, but of course he doesn’t know what was said.”  
Taylor closed his eyes. He hadn’t thought this would come up so fast.  
“Come with me to the study. We’ll talk,” she turned to leave.  
“Miss, I respectfully decline,” Taylor said softly, not daring to raise his gaze.  
She stopped and turned back.  
“Excuse me?”  
“I respectfully decline,” Taylor repeated, knowing she could hear him clearly, “I can’t talk about it.”  
There was a moment of awkward silence.  
The woman said something to Ibby in Spanish, and he replied in a quiet tone.  
“You will,” she directed to Taylor before leaving the stall.


	83. 83

It was sometime in the late afternoon when Taylor heard her return. He hadn’t moved. This time when she opened the gate – already knowing what she wanted – he didn’t even bother getting to his knees.  
“Taylor?”  
He just looked up in silence.  
She sighed with frustration before stepping over to him and looking down.  
“Are you ready to talk yet?” she asked in a tone that otherwise would have been considerate.  
“I’m sorry Miss, but I can’t,” he shook his head, desperation back in his eyes now, “you have to believe me that I would if I could. But Nate ordered me not to, and…”  
“You find Nate’s orders to be above mine, as your owner?” she interjected calmly.  
“No, but…” Taylor couldn’t think of how to justify it when it really did go against what he’d been taught.  
“We were warned about this,” she nodded, seemingly understandingly, “that you may not have been fully committed yet. And I did take that chance. However, we can’t just have you believing that you can get away with these indiscretions.”  
She smiled a little.  
“After all, what kind of example does that set for others?”  
Taylor’s face flushed a little, already wondering what he was going to have to do for her.  
“Now, I’m going to be a little lenient this time, seeing as it is your first real offence,” she offered, “and I’m still going to give you a choice. Your first option is to come with me up to the study. Explain to me what happened and why you’ve reacted this way, and all will be forgiven.”  
Taylor closed his eyes, already knowing that wasn’t an option.  
“Your other option…” she began as the gate opened a second time, “is to go to the yard with Carlos.”  
Taylor’s eyes shot open and he looked up in time to see Carlos walk into the stall, a satisfied smirk on his face. He looked between the two of them as if to see if they were serious. When it garnered no reaction he looked to the woman with pleading eyes.  
“Please don’t make me tell you,” he couldn’t stop his voice breaking as he shook his head, “you don’t know what he’ll do.”  
“Right now you should be more concerned with what Carlos will do,” she stood up straight again, “so what is it going to be?”  
Taylor turned away, his mind racing as he nervously bit his nails. He had a good idea of what he’d be in for if he continued to refuse, but the thought of Penny being involved in any way grossly outweighed the other consequences he faced. Realising that, he was able to calm himself.  
Without waiting for him to vocalise it, the woman stepped back.  
“Take him.”  
Carlos came forward and dislodged the chain from the wall, easily grabbing Taylor’s wrist and securing it around. Taylor quickly slid the necklace into his jean pocket before he could grab the other one.  
“Maybe you’ll change your mind after the first round,” the woman said before leaving the stall.  
“So we meet again,” Carlos smiled as Taylor flinched when the chains were pulled tight.  
Taylor refused to look at him, barely registering that he was the first person he’d heard speak English in over two months.  
Once the chains were locked into place Carlos pulled him to his feet and led him out to the yard.


	84. 84

“Are you sure it was Trent?” Davison’s eyebrows rose.  
“That was him!” Isaac pointed to the photo on Davison’s phone, “except his hair was shorter and his beard was longer!”  
“Tay’s the only one of us who’s ever seen this guy up close,” Zac cut in, “but I believe him.”  
“Are you doubting me after the Nate thing?” Isaac frowned.  
“I don’t doubt that you think you saw him,” Davison assured.  
“While this whole interrogating business is something we’re all really familiar with,” Zac held back a roll of his eyes, “maybe we should concentrate on tracking the guy down?”  
“I did see him,” Isaac said between his teeth.  
“Can we utilise some traffic cams?” Zac suggested, “that’s how you found me, right?”  
“We’re going to need a warrant,” Davison replied, “and we’re going to need more than Isaac’s word to get one. Especially considering the circumstances.”  
“Davis?” the officer suddenly called from the car, “we got details on the plate.”  
Davison made his way over, Zac flanking him. Rick gave Isaac’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.  
“Car’s stolen,” Zac heard the officer say.  
“Of course it is,” Davison grumbled, “why would Trent McCall attempt a kidnapping in his own car?”  
“It was a local steal, too,” the officer looked up, “he’s been close.”  
Zac had heard enough and gone back to Isaac.  
“Stolen car,” he revealed, “from somewhere nearby. Apparently the dude’s been hanging around.”  
“Tay was really panicked,” Isaac insisted, “he had to have reason for that. They may have been watching the house for all we know.”  
“They could have been watching all of us,” Zac shrugged, “how would we know? It’s not like they’re going to announce it.”  
Isaac rubbed his head in frustration.  
“So what are you guys going to do about it?” Rick looked between them.  
“I’m going to see the girls off tonight,” Zac looked to Isaac.  
“Then we need to head to Tampico,” he said, “Rick, could I ask you a favour?”  
“Anything,” he nodded.  
“I need you to keep an eye on Nikki,” Isaac looked regretful, “if they’re hanging around and I’m not going to be here-“  
“Say no more,” Rick cut him off, “happy to oblige. She and the boys are welcome to stay with us.”  
“Thank you,” Isaac said sincerely.  
“I’ll head back to mine and help Kate get ready,” Zac thumbed over his shoulder, “I’ll call you when they’re gone?”  
“Let me know if anything happens,” Isaac insisted.  
“You’ll be the first.”  
“Need an escort?” Rick offered.  
“I think we’re okay,” Zac nodded, “I think the moment’s genuinely passed. But I know who to call.”  
Rick nodded.  
“Be careful,” Isaac told him.  
“I will,” Zac saluted before heading back to his car.  
“I’ll head home and help set up some beds,” Rick took a step back.  
“And I’ll let Nikki in on the good news,” Isaac pulled out his phone.


	85. 85

Taylor really only began to panic when his wrists were secured to the pole over his head. Now it was real.  
“Please, Carlos,” his head started shaking, “you need to tell her that I can’t say anything! He’s blackmailing me!”  
“A slave addressing me by name?” Carlos smirked before landing a well-aimed blow to Taylor’s side.  
Taylor cried out, his legs buckling a little.  
“Please…” he tried again, “she doesn’t understand!”  
“I understand perfectly,” the woman’s voice came from behind him.  
Taylor tried to turn his head, but he couldn’t see her until she purposely stepped into his line of vision.  
“I understand that you fear Nathaniel’s word more than you respect mine. And that needs to change,” she looked him in the eye as Carlos grabbed him by the hair.  
Taylor couldn’t think of a defence for that. It was true after all.  
“I swear,” his voice broke again, “I will do anything you ask. I will tell you anything you want to know. Anything else. Just not this. I can’t.”  
She brushed Carlos’ hand aside, running her fingers down Taylor’s face.  
“You need to learn that there is nothing you cannot do for me,” she said calmly, “only what you cannot do for others.”  
He closed his eyes as he started taking deep breaths.  
“I’m sorry,” he barely whispered.  
“I know,” she confirmed.  
His eyes shot open as he felt Carlos roughly gag him with a piece of ragged cloth. His eyes welled as he realised there was now nothing he could say or do to stop what was going to happen.  
He flinched when the woman took his face in her hands and made him look her in the eye, trying desperately to blink the tears away.  
“Take your punishment with courage and dignity,” he knew it was an order, but it didn’t really feel like one, “and I want you to concentrate on the reason you think you can’t tell me what I need to know. Afterwards I will ask you if it was worth it, and you’ll get another chance to redeem yourself. Understand?”  
Taylor nodded, already knowing what the answer was going to be. She let him go and stepped back, giving Carlos a nod.  
Taylor jumped as he felt Carlos use his machete to cut away his shirt, letting it fall to the ground around his feet. He counted the footsteps that walked away, knowing exactly where they were going. His eyes closed as he heard the whip release from the nearby fencepost.  
“He’s so thin that it might cause damage to his spine,” his eyes opened again as he heard Carlos’ voice.  
“We’ll deal with that if it happens,” the woman said simply as he heard the leather slithering across the hard dirt.  
“How many?”  
“Five.”  
There was a pause and Taylor took a deep breath.  
The sound of the whip through the air was unmistakable. Carlos tested it only once before aiming for his target. Gagged or not, Taylor yelled out.


	86. 86

“Stop it,” Isaac groaned.  
“Can’t,” Zac replied, in reference to his bouncing knee.  
“Do you want to drive?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose.  
“I should get some sleep, right?”  
“Right.”  
“I can’t sleep.”  
Isaac rolled his eyes.  
“Then you drive and I’ll sleep. We have at least another fifteen hours or driving ahead of us.”  
“We should have flown,” Zac frowned.  
“Then it would have taken longer.”  
Zac looked out the window, watching the trees fly by as they headed back toward Dallas.  
“Okay I’ll drive,” he said after a long moment of silence.  
Isaac sighed and pulled off the highway so they could change places.  
“And don’t crank the music, either. I’m actually going to sleep,” Isaac said pointedly.  
Zac raised his hands in surrender as he walked around the car.  
Isaac got into the back seat and settled himself down as Zac got in the driver’s seat and began down the highway again. Instead of bouncing his knee however, he began tapping on the steering wheel instead.  
“Stop it,” Isaac soon grumbled.  
Zac clenched his teeth, somehow finding the self-control to comply.

*

When it was over, Carlos had unhooked the chains from the top of the pole but not from the pole itself. This allowed Taylor to collapse to the ground but still meant that he wouldn’t be going anywhere. He’d been barely conscious at the time and didn’t register what had happened until an hour or so later when he managed to shift himself so that he was sitting sideways and could lean against it.  
His back felt like it was on fire, and his body convulsed as it struggled to begin the healing process.  
As the sun set and the rainclouds moved in he slowly began to become more aware of his surroundings. He’d been left there once it was over, and apart from workers passing through the yards he hadn’t seen anyone since and no one had paid him any attention. He finally worked up the nerve just before dark to reach up and pull the gag down to his neck, taking a deep breath of air once he’d done so.  
It was well after dark and the rains had started falling by the time he spotted Siemme making his way toward him. He tried to sit up further but when the pain in his back hit him he had to slouch over again.  
Siemme showed Taylor his hands in a sign that he wasn’t going to hurt him before gingerly touching his shoulder and turning Taylor to the side so he could see his back. Taylor closed his eyes and winced as Siemme touched some tender spots on his back as he inspected the damage before he looked up as he heard someone calling from across the yard.  
Siemme stood back as Ibby made his way over, appearing to scold him. Taylor looked between them in confusion before Siemme gave him an apologetic look and took his leave. Ibby watched after him, before giving Taylor a glance and following. Taylor slumped back against the pole, realising quickly that they must have been warned away from him.


	87. 87

He was sure it was nearing midnight when Taylor saw Carlos and Juan walking into the yard, accompanied by a few other men. He struggled to sit up properly – his wrists pulling on the chains – as his eyes locked to them. When he saw that they merely glanced at him on their way to an outer shed, he wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or not. The usual yard party seemed to have been put off for the night due to the rains, which now had him soaked through but had at least washed a lot of the blood from his back away and cleaned out his wounds.  
He didn’t sleep all night. The steady hum of the rain on the ground made him drowsy, but between the pain in his back and the fear that someone would come for him in the night he couldn’t close his eyes for very long at all.  
The yard began to come alive just before sunrise as the workers began their day tending to the horses and general yard duties. Still, no one paid Taylor any mind. It wasn’t until after breakfast – he assumed – that he saw the woman again. Making her way over to him under a wide umbrella, Ibby trailing behind in the light rain.  
“Taylor,” she nodded.  
Taylor didn’t bother replying. He wasn’t even sure if he was able to yet.  
“I’m sorry we couldn’t account for the weather. Have you considered my proposal?”  
Taylor averted her gaze, giving her the answer she needed.  
“I hope you truly believe that the reason you’re hiding something is worth the trouble,” she huffed.  
“She is,” Taylor closed his eyes.  
There was a pause as the woman registered his wording, before she turned and spoke in Spanish to Ibby. He nodded, gave Taylor a regretful glance, then took his leave.  
“Perhaps another day under the clouds will change your mind,” she suggested before turning to leave herself.  
Taylor looked skyward as his matted hair clung to his face, wondering just how long this punishment was going to be drawn out for.  
“And that means no food, water, or medical attention,” she added as she continued walking.  
Taylor closed his eyes. He’d gathered that. But maybe the pain would subside enough now that he could at least sleep some of it off during the day.  
He shifted himself so that he was straighter against the pole – without it touching his back – and tried to send his mind blank. It wasn’t long before he fell into an uneasy sleep. He woke every now and then as someone passed by or some noisy work was being done, but he managed to sleep most of the rainy day away.  
Toward the late afternoon the rain subsided and the sun made a few brief appearances. He was about to nod off again when he suddenly felt something hit his leg. When his eyes shot open and spotted the large black bird beside him, he took a moment to gather his thoughts before he realised what was going on.  
“Oh no. No you don’t!” he kicked out at the bird as he struggled to pull himself to his feet for the first time.  
He glanced skyward only to see two more circling, and when he made it to his feet – slightly hunched over by the chains holding his wrists lower on the pole – he spun to see another one behind him on the fence. Flinching as the tips of his hair hit the highest cuts, his mind raced for a way to scare the birds away. They were evidently drawn by his wounds and lack of movement.  
Black vultures.


	88. 88

“Get AWAY!” Taylor yelled, kicking some mud towards the nearest vulture.  
He was sure it would have been more convincing if he’d been standing on dust rather than thin mud.  
One of the birds that was sitting on the fence had begun to inch closer, and Taylor knew without use of his arms that he wouldn’t be able to fight that one off if it got too close. He tried to concentrate on scaring the one at his feet away, but every time it jumped back from a kick it simply hopped closer. When it started pecking at his ankles Taylor tried swinging the chain at it but it just wasn’t long enough.  
“Oh come on,” he clenched his teeth as he saw the one on the fence was almost within reach of his back.  
He watched with wide eyes as it began fluttering its wings, before a sudden gunshot rang out and they finally took off into the sky.  
Taylor leant a shoulder against the pole as he watched them fly West, before he lowered his eyes to see the woman standing there with her pistol.  
“I forgot about those,” she said in a tone that made him wonder if she really had or not.  
She said something to Ibby in Spanish and he made his way over.  
“Better get you back to the stables where it’s… safe,” she mused as Ibby managed to detach the chains.  
Taylor took one last look around to make sure the vultures weren’t still watching before Ibby pulled him forward by the wrists. He stumbled as his legs had to get used to walking again before he was led back to his stall.  
Once there the chain was secured to the wall again, the other end still around his wrists.  
“I’ll see you in the morning,” the woman told him, before nodding to Ibby to follow her out.  
Taylor watched them leave, hearing the bolt in the door being secured on their way out. While there was still a little light in the stall he studied the chains on his wrists. He’d been pulling on them since Carlos had first chained them, and while they were nowhere near as tight as they had been in Texas they were still holding his shoulders at an awkward angle.  
With a sigh he fell to his knees in the hay, soon settling down onto his stomach. His back was still in too much pain to even lay on his side, so he crossed his ankles over each other and leant forward onto his elbows while wondering how long he could stay in that position without his arms falling asleep on him.

*

“So Tampico,” Zac nodded, moving his sunglasses onto his head as the sun disappeared.  
“We should find a place to hold up, and start in the morning,” Isaac suggested, already on the lookout for a motel.  
“Start what, exactly?” Zac rubbed his eyes tiredly, “we don’t even have a game plan. Are we supposed to just go up and down all the streets in the hopes that hey, maybe Tay’s hanging out a window somewhere?”  
“My how things change when I’m the one that gets the sleep,” Isaac mused.  
“Sorry,” Zac grumbled, looking out the window again.  
“We’ll sleep on it and work something out in the morning,” Isaac assured, “when we can think straight.”  
“That sounds like a plan.”  
Isaac soon found a motel and pulled in to book a room.


	89. 89

Sometime in the night, Siemme had snuck in to Taylor’s stall with some of the ointment Taylor knew they usually put on Carlos’ victims. He wasn’t keen, but he eventually let him treat the wounds on his back. Siemme didn’t bandage them, but made sure that what Taylor assumed was some sort of disinfectant covered every surface that hadn’t yet scabbed over. When he left Taylor managed to get some more sleep.  
He woke up sometime in the mid-morning when he accidentally rolled onto his side and the pain shocked him awake. With a groan he returned to his previous position, feeling his arms shake from the strain already. He wasn’t there for long before he heard his gate opening. Not bothering to turn and look up, he wondered what she had planned for him now.  
“Kneel.”  
Taylor’s eyes immediately widened and began to tear as he froze, barely daring to breathe.  
“Do not make me ask twice.”  
Taylor cringed, before awkwardly managing to pull himself up. He turned to the side and sat back onto his knees, not daring to look up.  
“I hear you’ve been causing your Mistress some trouble,” the voice alone setting Taylor’s nerves on edge, “we’ll need to see what we can do about that.”  
Taylor didn’t dare even close his eyes, but he couldn’t help but lean back as the man stepped in and closed the gate behind him.  
“I hear Nathaniel paid you a visit.”  
“Yes Master,” Taylor’s voice shook and he winced.  
“What did he say to you?”  
Taylor squeezed his eyes shut, fighting an internal battle. When the master took another step closer, his eyes shot open again.  
“He ordered someone to go after my wife,” he blurted, leaning back further.  
There was a moment of silence as his response was digested.  
“Your wife?” he sounded confused.  
“He called my brother,” Taylor admitted, “to gloat. I managed to tell him that Nate had been in my house. I think, I don’t know. Then Nate called someone and told them to go after her. I don’t know who got to her first.”  
A tear fell down his cheek as his eyes darted cross the hay.  
“He said if Miss found out what happened, he’d send them after my daughter. Oh my God.”  
The master stepped forward and put a hand on Taylor’s head, fingers curling through his hair and forcing him to look upward.  
“And you believe him?” Taylor saw the frown on his face.  
“Yes Master,” Taylor gulped, not daring to close his eyes.  
He let him go, and Taylor could suddenly feel himself shaking.  
“Interesting…” he trailed off confusingly.  
Taylor dared to glance upward, soon returning his gaze to the hay.  
“Stand up.”  
Taylor leant forward so he could use his hands to lever himself up, before stumbling to his feet. The master fetched the chain from the wall before heading back for the gate.  
“Come,” he instructed.  
Taylor followed obediently as he was led back up to the main house.


	90. 90

Taylor planted himself in a wooden chair when he was told to, the master retaining the chain attached to his wrists as his Mistress made her way into the room.  
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d sat on a chair, not including the piano stool.  
“I’ve discovered the problem,” the man said to her as she looked down at Taylor with an unimpressed look.  
“And it is?”  
“He believes his family are still alive.”  
Taylor’s head shot up. He had to hold himself back from speaking out of turn, but it was very hard. They thought his family were dead?  
“I see…” the woman pursed her lips, “I’m aware of a brother that was taken in with him. I was unable to acquire him myself.”  
“I’m afraid I know the reason for that,” he turned his attention back to Taylor, “when is the last time you spoke to your brother?”  
“Two days ago,” he replied instantly, “over the phone.”  
“The phone?” the woman frowned.  
“Nate used his to-“  
Taylor cut himself off as the master snapped his fingers, signalling him to be quiet.  
“When was the last time you spoke to him face to face?”  
Taylor paused to think, glad that they at least seemed to be focused on Zac rather than Isaac as well.  
“The last night before I went to serve you,” he responded.  
“And when is the last time you recall speaking to your wife?”  
Taylor blanched, not expecting the question.  
“A few hours before I was…” he hesitated, knowing he had to be careful with the terminology, “before we ran into Nate.”  
His eyes lowered.  
“This is a problem,” the master directed his statement to the woman, “becoming a slave is a purely psychological experience. They need to believe that they are so cut off from their past lives that they aren’t worth fighting for anymore. If he merely believes that his family are still alive, then that is something he will believe he must fight for. Already having a brother involved was a mistake.”  
“So how do we rectify this?” the woman sighed.  
“A shock,” Taylor looked up curiously, “we must prove the reality of the situation to him. Prove to him that they are gone, and that he doesn’t need to fight for them anymore.”  
Taylor’s brow furrowed, wondering how they could possibly do that when it wasn’t true.  
“Do you have a viable internet connection?” the master asked.  
“In the study,” the woman nodded, “if you would follow me…”  
She led the way from the room, a tug on Taylor’s wrists indicating that he was meant to follow as well.  
They made their way into the study and with the master’s indication Taylor returned to his normal kneeling position on the rug. The woman took up her usual place at the desk, while the master flanked her.  
“What was your surname?” he looked up at Taylor.  
“Hanson,” Taylor closed his eyes, knowing this outcome would be anything but good.  
“Type it in,” the man instructed.


	91. 91

_“At nineteen years old Taylor Hanson – middle brother of the multi-platinum selling pop group Hanson – married eighteen year old Natalie Anne Bryant…”_

“That’s him,” the woman frowned, as Taylor felt both their eyes on him.  
He closed his own, begging the tears not to fall as he heard the media coverage of his wedding play out on the laptop.  
“We need to be sure,” the man took charge of the computer, stopping the video and starting another.  
“He’s mentioned the name Natalie before,” the woman sounded almost worried.  
Taylor clenched his teeth as he heard the video for Give A Little start to play.  
“That’s his brother on the drums. The one I saw,” she pointed to the screen as the vocals came in, “and that is definitely him singing.”  
Taylor’s eyes slid open as he worked himself up a little.  
“Search for Taylor Hanson…” he said softly, “and Bernard Holmes.”  
There was a pause as the two looked at each other, before the master did so. It wasn’t long before Taylor could hear the audio from a police report, a voiceover clearly over the scene at the border where Bernard was holding him hostage.  
“Why this?” the master demanded as Taylor’s red eyes met his.  
“Because Nate was there,” he revealed, “and he hates me for getting his friend killed.”  
Just as he said the words the gunfire played out on the laptop.  
“That’s enough,” the master closed the laptop, stopping the video.  
The woman sat back abruptly.  
“This is a problem,” he said to her, “one of which I wasn’t aware. I do apologise for it.”  
She waved her hand indeterminably.  
“You’ll need to keep him out of sight for the time being. We can’t chance any visitors you may have recognising him.”  
“Of course,” she nodded, standing from her seat.  
Taylor’s eyes darted between the two before another tug on his wrists made him stand up. The man handed her the chain and she gave Taylor a pointed look before leading him out of the study and down towards the kitchen.  
“What does this mean?” he asked the moment he was clear of the study – and the master’s hearing range.  
“It means Nathaniel was not completely honest with his superiors,” she replied.  
“But what does this mean for me?” Taylor was trying to stay calm and failing.  
“For now? Nothing.”  
They made it into the kitchen and she led him to the cellar. He glanced at the door before raising his eyebrows.  
“Go,” she instructed.  
Taylor swallowed as he looked around, but wasn’t willing to test her while the master was anywhere around. With a great amount of difficulty he turned around and slowly made his way down the ladder. When he reached the bottom he looked up in time to duck away as she threw the chain down, then closed and bolted the door behind him.  
He quickly looked around to make sure that he was alone, before walking over to the single lamp that stayed lit down there and once again using it to light a few more.


	92. 92

“I just got a text from Rick,” Isaac said as Zac set the coffees on the table and took his seat again.  
“Anything we can use?” he asked, putting his feet up on the next chair.  
“Maybe,” Isaac frowned, “the airport Tay’s plane landed at was actually a bit further North, they think.”  
“So he’s not in Tampico?” Zac adjusted his sunglasses.  
“No… it’s not a main airport,” Isaac was texting a reply, “looks like it might be a private one.”  
“Awesome,” Zac toasted his coffee, “private planes and private runways. All purchased with money used to buy people. Sounds great. Who knows what else they have up their sleeves.”  
“In Mexico? I’d probably lean more toward guns. Lots of them.”  
“Even better.”  
There was a pause as Zac drank his coffee and Isaac conversed with Rick.  
“We’re being told to head North on the… De Los Rios?” Isaac shook his head.  
“Then we should go check out,” Zac said decidedly, standing up immediately.  
Isaac glanced up before going back to his phone.  
“Maybe when we have an actual destination?” he suggested.  
“You text, I’ll drive,” Zac insisted, grabbing Isaac’s coffee in his other hand.  
“Deal,” Isaac stood.  
They walked back across the street to their car and headed back for the motel. Barely an hour later, they had handed in the keys and were on their way North.  
“Do we know how far to go?” Zac asked.  
“I’d say at least an hour,” Isaac shrugged, “he’s relaying from Davison and the network’s not great here.”  
Zac nodded.  
“And to make sure we’re not running into an ambush…? You know the whole gun angle is not leaning this whole thing in our favour.”  
“The moment we need backup we’ll get it,” Isaac assured.  
“And that’s another thing,” Zac looked confused, “I know I missed out on the whole ‘by the way we’re going to Tampico’ conversation with Davison because I had to help the girls get away, but at what point did he not even consider sending a team down here? Isn’t there supposed to be some kind of negotiations happening between the US and Mexico about the human trafficking thing? Why aren’t they following the same leads that we are?”  
“Because Davison’s team is focused on finding Nate. And now Trent,” Isaac explained, “Carlson’s team is focused on the whole kidnapping situation in Dallas. That’s all we hear from. I have no idea what this big national team is supposed to be doing, but I’m pretty sure their main focus is the trafficking situation. In the grand scheme of things, I don’t think anyone cares so much about Taylor.”  
Zac ran his hand through his hair as he pondered that.  
“Surely they’d be following the leads though,” he shook his head, “by finding Tay they’ve cut off at least one of the heads, right?”  
“They may not see it that way,” Isaac shrugged, “maybe more so Tay being an acceptable loss overall.”  
“This sucks,” Zac clenched his teeth.  
“You’re telling me,” Isaac took a deep breath before finally trying his coffee, “but there you go.”


	93. 93

“We can see it now,” Isaac said over the phone as Zac drove.  
They’d been on the road for hours, and were now getting exact directions from Rick.  
“Great. I’m sorry I don’t have anything more for you at this point.”  
“Do you know what the serial number on the plane was, by any chance?” Isaac squinted as Zac had pointed out a plane at the end of the runway.  
“No idea, sorry. Why?”  
“Because there’s a small white plane here now. Wondering if it’s the same one.”  
“It’s possible. Be careful, guys. Call me straight away if you find anything.”  
“No problem. Thanks Rick,” Isaac hung up.  
“What if it is?” Zac looked across at his brother, “and how can we tell?”  
“I think we should get a closer look,” Isaac turned to look behind them making sure they were alone on the road, “there doesn’t seem to be anyone here.”  
“That doesn’t mean there isn’t anyone,” Zac pointed out, but pulled into the airport regardless.  
He pulled in beside a shed so that the car couldn’t be seen from the main road. Still there didn’t appear to be anyone around.  
“Let’s go,” Isaac opened the door and got out.  
Zac tapped his fingers on the steering wheel before getting out himself. Isaac was already to the plane and looking inside.  
“Oh yeah. This is definitely the plane that had Taylor in it,” he looked back at Zac before looking to the plane again.  
“What makes you say that?” Zac frowned as he made his way over.  
Isaac indicated the window and Zac had a look inside. He winced when he saw the cages inside.  
“That’ll be it alright,” he took a step back, “but where would they go from here? They could have driven anywhere. And if this is the same plane they used to bring Taylor here, why is it here now?”  
“They must be somewhere close, to come here and not go somewhere else,” Isaac assured.  
“It’s still a maybe,” Zac turned to leave.  
“But it’s the only one we’ve got,” Isaac looked up as Zac stopped abruptly.  
Zac had come face to face with an assault rifle and immediately raised his hands.  
“¿Quién es usted?” the man with a bandana around his neck demanded.  
“Los turistas!” Isaac stepped up straight away.  
“¿Los turistas?”  
“Si,” Isaac nodded, also displaying his hands.  
“Not just tourists…” came a voice from the direction of the shed making both brothers turn their heads, “but the other two thirds of Hanson, I believe.”  
The boys were immediately on guard at the reference to Taylor by the much older man. He stood about as tall as Zac with a head of white hair and crystalline blue eyes.  
“I guess we’re in the right place,” Zac breathed.  
“You’ve come a long way,” the man stepped over to him, staring him directly in the eye, “it’s a shame you won’t achieve your objective.”  
“Really?” Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“Take them,” the man ordered.  
Zac clenched his teeth again as his arms were pulled behind him by others who had suddenly appeared from the shed. Looking over his shoulder he saw Isaac getting the same treatment.


	94. 94

“Why are you back so soon? What happened?” the woman demanded when she saw the master enter her study unannounced.  
“I’ve brought you gifts,” he said with a hint of sarcasm as Isaac and Zac were led in behind him – hands on their heads.  
“Zac,” her eyes narrowed in recognition.  
“That’s her!” Zac turned to Isaac before being clubbed on the back of his neck by the butt of a rifle.  
The blow sent him to his hands and knees, and he quickly knelt up again.  
“What are they doing here?” she demanded.  
“I came across them inspecting my plane,” the master looked them over with disdain, “though they stupidly appear to be here alone.”  
“Alone?” her eyes were on Zac again.  
“Yes.”  
She hesitated, then turned to Ibby who was at her side. Giving him Spanish instructions, he quickly left the room.  
“What do you intend for me to do with them?” she asked.  
“Keep them out of sight until I speak with my superiors,” the man insisted, “if you don’t mind, of course.”  
She seemed to consider it.  
“Very well,” she relented with a sigh, “but I don’t know where we’ll put them. Do you have any restraints?”  
“I figured you’d have your own,” the man said snidely, “but if you can take it from here, we’ll take our leave.”  
The words no sooner left his mouth before the door to the study opened again. Ibby led Taylor in, the end of the chain to his wrists connected to the hoop in his collar.  
“TAY?” Zac exclaimed, ignoring the warning shouts and darting up toward his brother.  
“Zac?!” Taylor’s eyes widened as he was almost bowled over by the hug he got.  
“Nat’s safe,” Zac quickly whispered in his ear before he was pulled off by one of the rifle-wielding Mexicans.  
Taylor took a moment to pull himself together, before he spotted Isaac as well.  
“Ike?!” he frowned.  
He stumbled forward as Ibby handed the chain to the master. Seeing who held him, Taylor gulped worriedly.  
“What are they doing here?” he asked as he looked between he and the woman, feeling Isaac’s eyes on him.  
“Questions, Taylor?” the master gave the chain a yank making him stumble forward again.  
“Leave him alone!” Zac fought the men holding him until they got him down to his knees.  
“That’s not a bad idea,” the master mused before turning to Taylor, “kneel.”  
Taylor gulped but lowered himself to his knees where he was. Isaac cringed a little at the sight.  
“Ibby,” the woman called his attention again before speaking to him in Spanish.  
The slave nodded and left the room again. Taylor’s eyes finally met Isaac’s, and he frowned when he saw something in them that he didn’t recognise. The expression was returned.  
Minutes later Ibby returned with an armful of chains. Seeing what was going to happen, Zac attempted to stand up again but was held down.


	95. 95

“Him first,” the woman instructed, pointing a finger in Zac’s direction.  
The men obliged, taking a chain from Ibby and using it to secure Zac’s wrists behind his back.  
“Please don’t hurt them,” Taylor’s eyes went to the woman.  
“And now speaking out of turn,” Taylor cringed as the master grabbed him by the hair, “I see the indiscretions are becoming more frequent.”  
“Let him go!” Zac scowled, having to be held back again.  
“Your brother seems to think he’s in a position of power here,” the master leant in to Taylor slightly, “perhaps we should show him just how wrong he is.”  
“Please don’t,” Taylor whispered, before crying out as he was shoved forward.  
Losing balance he fell down onto his side, the master taking the opportunity to step on the chain as close to his neck as he could. Taylor gulped as the collar pulled on his neck, his hands scrambling to hold the short length of chain between the foot and the collar.  
“What the…?” Isaac said under his breath, seeing the marks on his back for the first time.  
Zac’s eyes only narrowed as his temper flared.  
“What did you do to him?” he demanded, eyes on the woman.  
“It’s called discipline, young man,” the master answered for her, “something you unfortunately did not get to learn in time.”  
“That’s not discipline, that’s torture,” Zac said decidedly, “it’s inhuman!”  
“I don’t believe anyone asked your opinion,” the master gave a nod to the man behind Zac, who swiftly took his shoulder and landed a blow across his face.  
Taylor and Isaac both flinched but otherwise didn’t move.  
“Will you be able to handle these three, or do I need to stay a while?” the master looked to the woman with scorn.  
“We will separate them,” she assured him before giving Ibby further instructions.  
He left the room a third time and soon returned with Carlos, Juan, and a third man Taylor had seen with them before.  
“Take Taylor back to the cellar,” she instructed, “and… this one to the stables.”  
She indicated Isaac.  
“Take Zac to the yard.”  
“NO!” Taylor struggled as Carlos instantly made his way over to Zac.  
“Stop it,” the master sneered down at him, “or you’ll come back with me instead.”  
Taylor froze at the threat, watching helplessly as his brothers were taken from the room. Once they were gone the man stooped to collect the chain and roughly pulled Taylor back to his feet.  
“Pay attention,” he said calmly as he looked into Taylor’s eyes – his pull on the chain just so Taylor’s face was level with his, “for…”  
He looked to the woman.  
“Zac,” she offered.  
“For Zac I offer no guarantees,” he told him, “but as long as you remember your training, and forget that Nathaniel was even here, your other brother will be fine. Do not test this. Do you understand?”  
Taylor clenched his teeth as his back already hurt from stooping at an awkward angle.  
“Yes Master,” he said finally.  
“Good.”  
He handed Taylor’s chain back to Ibby, who swiftly led him back to the cellar without even a glance.


	96. 96

Taylor struggled to get down the ladder with the chain in the way now as well as his wrists being bound, but eventually made it. He looked up in time to see Ibby give him an apologetic look before closing and bolting the door.  
“You appear to be in a fair bit of trouble,” he jumped when he heard the voice behind him and immediately spun to see Nate emerging from the shadows, “I hope it has nothing to do with me.”  
“It has everything to do with you and you know it,” Taylor scorned, stepping to the side so that Nate couldn’t corner him.  
“And your back?” Nate shadowed his movements, greatly enjoying the game.  
“Stay away from me!” Taylor moved faster, backing behind some wine barrels after quickly making sure he had a way out.  
“Not that I mind playing cat and mouse, but do you really think you can outrun me when we’re both locked down here?” Nate felt the need to point out as he followed him around and out the other side.  
“Why are you here?” Taylor demanded, knowing he was right but it not deterring him.  
“I thought you’d like to know how your little wife is going in the training program,” Nate smiled.  
“You’re a liar,” Taylor’s eyebrows rose, “they never got her.”  
“So you’ve spoken to them,” Nate stepped closer making Taylor duck around a rack of cheeses, “that means they’re here already.”  
Taylor paused to catch his breath as Nate stopped to lean against the rack.  
“You knew?” he frowned.  
“I keep tabs,” Nate looked him up and down.  
“How long have you been stalking us?” Taylor’s face lost colour as the realisation hit.  
Nate just smiled unnervingly before stepping forward again. Taylor took a step back, tripping over the edge of the frame. The split second he took to turn his head and steady himself meant that Nate was on him.  
“Let me GO!” he yelled, struggling against Nate’s arms before Nate managed to grab the chain.  
His right hand held the end near Taylor’s wrists in order to keep his hands out of the way, while the left crept up to the collar to hold it in place.  
“A while,” Nate responded to Taylor’s earlier question.  
“Let me go,” Taylor repeated.  
“You know… Natalie has been getting on fine without you,” Nate ignored the plea, “the kids have been going to school as usual. The same route every day.”  
Taylor closed his eyes until a sharp tug on the collar made him open them again.  
“Not trying to block me out, are you Taylor?” he tilted his head, “I was just about to comment on how well your daughter has been doing in math class.”  
“You asshole,” Taylor said between his teeth.  
“Name calling now?” Nate mused.  
He shoved Taylor away, who easily lost his balance and fell to the ground. Glad to be free of his grip Taylor sat up and backed against one of the racks.  
“Why would you follow them?” his voice shook, “why do you feel the need to involve them? This should have been it. You succeeded in taking my life away from me. From my angle it’s over.”  
Nate sighed, crouching down beside him.  
“Not from mine,” he shook his head.


	97. 97

Zac was succumbing to another coughing fit out in the yard where he’d been chained to the pole. The blood on the ground alone told him it wasn’t the most inviting place to be, and it had only been reiterated by the beating he’d received from Carlos.  
He groaned as he leant his head back against the pole, unable to wipe away the blood coming from both his lip and his nose. He only opened his eyes when he heard a nearby footstep, looking up in time to see a man in full SWAT uniform ducking behind a shed.  
Instantly more awake, he looked around to see if he could see more. The sudden turn of his head caused an abrupt headache, and he groaned again as he closed his eyes.  
“This is one of them,” he heard a voice to his right.  
His eyes shot open again, ignoring the pain. A different SWAT member was approaching him, trailed by another who was keeping a lookout.  
“Zac Hanson?”  
“Yeah,” Zac frowned.  
“Okay. Keep your voice down, we’ll have you out in no time.”  
Zac looked between them worriedly, before looking back up toward the main house.  
“Padlocks. Old school,” the one inspecting his chains said aloud.  
“Bolt cutters?” the other suggested.  
“There’s no time. Zac?”  
Zac turned back to him.  
“Don’t worry. We’ll be back.”  
“You’re leaving me?” Zac looked worried.  
“We need to secure the area. When it’s safer, we’ll be back to collect you. Just like in Waco.”  
“You were there?” Zac asked.  
The man nodded.  
“Hang tight, you hear?”  
Zac just nodded, leaning back as they disappeared from sight. As he looked back up toward the house, he noticed a team of three headed towards a door to the left.

*

Nate and Taylor both looked up as they heard movement. The bolt on the cellar door was being pried open.  
“There weren’t any footsteps,” Taylor frowned.  
“Then it’s no one we know,” Nate quickly grabbed Taylor by the shoulder and pulled him back into a corner.  
He landed in the hiding place he’d made for the kids, Nate soon on top of him with his hand over his mouth. Eyes darting, Taylor’s hands flew to cover Nate’s as Nate settled down beside him in time for the door to come open.  
They heard footsteps make their way down the ladder and saw what appeared to be a torchlight darting across the adjacent wall.  
“Cellar’s clear!” they heard a call with a distinct New York accent.  
When Taylor realised who it must have been, he began struggling against Nate for all he was worth. With strength and weight to his advantage, Nate held the upper hand as the footsteps once again disappeared up the ladder. A moment later, the door was closed again.  
“Isn’t that an interesting twist?” Nate mused, peeking out of their hiding spot.


	98. 98

Isaac looked up when he heard someone at the door. A set of blue eyes peered at him through the slats.  
Confused because he hadn’t seen any aside from Taylor’s since crossing the border, he sat up straight when the gate was opened.  
“Isaac Hanson?” the SWAT member slung his rifle over his shoulder.  
“Yeah,” Isaac attempted to stand up.  
He made it on the third try, with a little help.  
“We’ve been looking for you.”  
“I’m glad,” Isaac looked between the two now in the stall as the one who’d helped him up inspected the chains on his wrists, “but how did you even know we were here?”  
“A team followed you from Tulsa,” he revealed, glancing up at his associate after seeing the locks, “radio in and tell them we’ve found two out of three.”  
“You haven’t found Taylor?” Isaac frowned as the man stepped back around to his front.  
“Not yet, but we’ve only just got here.”  
“He’s in the cellar,” Isaac immediately told them, “that’s where they were told to take him when we were separated.”  
“Roger that,” the SWAT member closest to the gate stepped back outside.  
“Sit tight Isaac, we’ll be back with something to get those chains off,” the other said as he pulled the rifle down into his hands again.  
“Much appreciated,” Isaac nodded in return as they left the stall.

*

“You just keep that with you?” Taylor looked incredulous as he panted from trying to fight Nate off.  
Nate had pulled the same roll of duct tape from his jacket.  
“Never know when you might need it,” he said calmly, breaking a piece off.  
“What are you gonna do?” Taylor’s expression changed to one of worry, “they probably have the place surrounded, you’ll never get past them.”  
“That’s why I need you then, isn’t it?” Nate scorned, leaning forward.  
Taylor backed off as far as he could, which wasn’t far. Nate still had him cornered in the hiding spot.  
“Wait! Wait,” Taylor lifted his hands in front of his face so that he couldn’t be gagged.  
“What?” Nate sighed.  
“Don’t you remember what happened to Bernard?!” Taylor frowned, “that’s why we’re here, right?! You’re about to go and do the same exact thing!”  
“If all goes well we won’t even meet them on the way out,” Nate assured.  
“What?!”  
“I know a trick or two,” Nate offered him an unnerving smile, before grabbing his wrists by the chain.  
He pulled them forward and held them down with his elbow before planting the tape over Taylor’s mouth. When that was done he quickly bound the tape around Taylor’s lower arms and hip area so that he couldn’t raise his hands far enough to remove it from his face. Taylor let out a muffled cry when the tape hit some of the lower cuts on his back.  
“Now…” Nate began calmly as Taylor tested the pull, “let’s make a move before they decide to check more thoroughly.”  
He pulled Taylor to his feet by the chain and led him over to the ladder. Leading the way up he kept hold of the chain, slowly pulling on it to keep Taylor balanced on the way up.


	99. 99

Zac watched the house like a hawk. He hadn’t seen anyone in a long time, and the utter silence was worrying.  
It wasn’t until it got to the point where he was beginning to wonder if he’d imagined the whole thing that he heard a rumble in the distance. A moment later a SWAT car appeared, pulling to an abrupt halt in one of the stable yards. As it came to rest he looked up in time to see multiple men leaving the house – some with prisoners in handcuffs. Suddenly breathing easier, he leant back against the pole again.  
“About time,” he muttered to himself.  
The SWAT team barked orders at each other, and from what little he could overhear Zac assumed it was over. From the back of the vehicle four more uniformed officers sprung and two more vehicles pulled up, and one of them immediately made their way over to Zac. When he saw the bolt cutters in his hand he groaned appreciatively.  
“Thank you,” he said as soon as the man was in ear shot.  
He stepped around behind Zac and instantly got to work. As soon as his hands were free Zac rubbed the dried blood from his face.  
“Step over here, son,” the man indicated the back of the truck.  
Zac obliged as he rubbed his wrists.  
“Where are my brothers?” he asked as he made it, sitting in the back as he was handed a bottle of water.  
“Isaac’s on his way now,” his escort confirmed with a glance upward.  
Zac instantly stood up again, stepping around the door to make sure he was right. He soon spotted Isaac being led down from the stables looking no worse for wear.  
“Ike!” he waved him over.  
“What happened to you?” Isaac frowned when he saw the marks still on Zac’s face.  
“Welcoming committee. They were all hands,” Zac winced, “or… fists, rather.”  
“I get it,” Isaac nodded as he joined him in the back of the van.  
“Where’s Tay?” Zac frowned.  
“I told them where he was,” Isaac shrugged, “they must be finding him about now.”  
Zac got up again and stepped around the door, keeping an eye on the house. Two of the SWAT members standing by them put fingers to their ears as they heard a transmission come through.  
“Isaac?” one of them got his attention, “where did you say Taylor was?”  
“The cellar,” Isaac frowned, standing up again, “why?”  
“The cellar. Yes,” the man relayed into his radio.  
There was a pause.  
“What’s going on?” Zac looked between them.  
“He’s not there,” the second man locked eyes with Isaac.  
“Excuse me?” Isaac’s eyebrows rose, “it wasn’t even all that long ago that he was taken there!”  
“Maybe they changed their mind,” Zac shook his head, “he can’t be too hard to find in this place, surely?”  
“We’ve secured the entire building and accounted for everyone inside. He’s just not here,” the officer looked confused.  
“How does that make sense?” Isaac looked to Zac in frustration, “it was literally an hour ago!”  
“Where could he have even gone?” Zac frowned, “and how? How could he have gone?!”


	100. 100

“She’s not here,” Zac shook his head.  
“What?” Isaac demanded.  
“She’s not here. The woman that bought him!”  
They were watching as the people of the house had been rounded up and either loaded into SWAT cars or interrogated on the spot. Supposedly everyone accounted for was out in the stable yard.  
“Neither is that guy whose plane we found,” Isaac realised, scratching his chin.  
“So Tay must be with them,” Zac said decidedly, before making his way over to the man keeping watch over the two of them.  
“You’re missing a few,” he informed him.  
“Excuse me?” he looked across at Zac.  
“You’re missing some people. Besides Taylor, obviously. The woman that brought him here isn’t here,” Zac said pointedly, barely managing to hold himself back from making a scene, “and there’s a guy missing too. The guy whose plane we followed here. He’s a big guy, blue eyes, white hair, blank facial expression…”  
The officer quickly picked up his radio.  
“Got any names?” he asked first.  
“Well Taylor called the guy ‘Master’ but I doubt that’s it,” Zac seethed.  
The officer faltered, before calling up his superior to give him the news.  
“Can you give us detailed descriptions of the two?” he asked.  
“Gladly,” Zac blinked, forcing himself to calm down, “and Ike can back me up. We both saw them.”  
“Get the van in here, we need to set up an identikit…” the officer stepped away as he spoke on the radio.  
Zac watched after him before turning back to Isaac.  
“We need to draw a picture for them,” he said between his teeth as he sat beside his brother.  
“They should have had this place locked down,” Isaac shook his head in confusion, “how did they manage to get by? I seriously didn’t hear a thing until it was all over.”  
“Me neither, and I had a perfect view of the house from here,” Zac nodded as he looked up, “maybe they haven’t covered everything yet.”  
“When they brought us here from the airport…” Isaac squinted a little, “we didn’t come down the main road. I’m sure we didn’t. So there must be another road that leads here.”  
Zac pursed his lips, looking to the distance as far as he could see.  
“It was gravel,” he realised, “maybe twenty-five miles.”  
“Right,” Isaac agreed, “and if the SWAT team followed us from the airport, they wouldn’t have come by the main road either.”  
“And unless they have some serious silencing action on their chopper, they have no aerial surveillance,” Zac added.  
There was barely a moment’s pause before Zac was on his feet again and approaching the officer.  
“Please, Zac, sit in the van until-“  
“You guys missed something,” Zac said straight out.  
“Evidently. Or we would have found Taylor.”  
“No, roads,” Zac pointed back over his shoulder, “you guys came in via a gravel track, right?”  
“We followed you all the way from the airport,” the officer shrugged.  
“Exactly. But that’s not the only road in here,” Zac stared him down, “so find the others.”


	101. 101

“Taylor…? Taylor? Open your eyes. Come on. Come back to us…”  
Taylor heard the voice in the distance as he managed to force his eyes open, seeing nothing but dark and blurry shapes. He was barely conscious when he felt it coming, and instantly turned onto his side.  
“Quick, quick!”  
Taylor felt someone rip the tape from his mouth just in time for him to throw up on what he presumed was the floor. Having not eaten anything for a few days, there wasn’t much to bring up. He barely registered his hair being held back as he struggled to catch his breath.  
“Do you think we overdid it?”  
“Maybe. I told you I wasn’t an expert.”  
Taylor tried to push himself up but found his wrists still bound together. With a groan he fell forward onto something soft. A bed?  
“I’ll leave you to it,” the second voice said suddenly before he heard their footsteps walk away.  
As he worked to regain awareness, he realised he recognised it. But he wasn’t sure exactly how. Nate’s voice he definitely recognised however.  
When he was finally able to open his eyes again he managed to make out Nate’s outline as he crouched beside the bed attempting to clean up the mess.  
“What happened?” Taylor choked out, his throat so dry he was sure there was dust down it.  
“Just concentrate on waking up,” Nate insisted, standing and taking a few steps back.  
Taylor couldn’t make out exactly what he was doing, but soon registered that they were in a very small space. He remained as still as he could – panting slightly and feeling his body shake – as his vision cleared. There wasn’t much light in the space but once his vision cleared he was able to discern that they seemed to be in some sort of trailer. He was on a bed up the far end, and Nate was fussing around in the makeshift kitchen between where he was and a small table surrounded by derelict sofa seating.  
Feeling like all his body wanted to do was sleep, he fought the urge to close his eyes again and instead tried to push himself up once more. The familiar rattle of the chain hit his ears, but he noticed it was no longer around his wrists. Instead, they were taped together.  
Without managing to get any more than his head up, he looked up to the head of the bed to see the chain anchored to a rivet in the wall. Looking up further he noticed that the windows were boarded up.  
When he heard Nate take a couple of steps in his direction again, he quickly turned his head and then lowered it to the bed with a groan as a dizzy spell hit.  
“Are you with me?” Nate asked as he crouched beside the bed again, tilting his head so he was almost at eye level.  
“No,” Taylor admitted, beginning to wonder that if he did feel better anytime soon how long he could keep up the act for.  
“The anaesthetic should wear off quickly,” Nate held something out, “here.”  
“Anaesthetic?” Taylor frowned incredulously as he spied the glass of water.  
He tried again to sit himself up, and jumped when Nate had to help him. It was then he noticed that he was barefoot and his ankles were taped together.  
“Why?” his voice still croaked as he took the glass, “where are we?”  
“If I was going to tell you that, why would I have drugged you to bring you here?” Nate frowned.


	102. 102

“Why am I here?” Taylor followed Nate with his eyes, his hands holding the glass still quivering as his system fought off the drugs.  
“Because I brought you here,” Nate replied simply.  
Taylor just gave him an exasperated look.  
“But why?” he tried again, “why did you bring me here? Why not just leave me to-“  
He cut himself off as he remembered being in the cellar and hearing the New York accent.  
“You didn’t want me to be rescued,” he realised suddenly, “you brought me here because you didn’t want them to find me.”  
Nate reached out and took the glass from him, Taylor watching as he took it over to the small sink.  
“Because that’s what it’s all about,” Taylor added softly.  
“Do you want something to eat? You must be starving,” Nate offered, going to the small fridge.  
Taylor didn’t reply, still having trouble processing the situation. He closed his eyes as he continued to fight the pull of the drugs, opening them again when he almost fell forward. Using his feet to push himself back, he pulled his legs up onto the bed as he sat against the back window and closed his eyes again. He could feel himself sweating and the hair sticking to his face and neck, and wondered how long it was supposed to be before the drugs wore off completely.  
He let out another groan when Nate’s weight on the bed made him feel sick again.  
“Here.”  
He looked up to see Nate holding out a sandwich obviously bought at a truck stop. He hesitated before taking it, making sure it was still sealed. He held it in his hands awkwardly for a moment, trying to wait until the sickness in his stomach subsided before an attempt to eat.  
“What happened to Ike and Zac?” he asked carefully, knowing he must be pushing it with the amount of questions he was asking already.  
“Eat,” Nate insisted, biting into his own sandwich.  
Taylor looked down at it, his fingers tracing the edges of the packaging.  
“It can’t hurt to tell me, right?” he looked up hopefully.  
“I don’t know what happened, I didn’t stick around to find out,” Nate said sternly, “now eat. It’ll make you feel better.”  
Taylor mused that it was something Nate had never been worried about before, but he obediently broke the sandwich open. With his hands now awkwardly close together again it was hard, but he managed to get half out and take a bite. Whatever was in it wasn’t particularly appetising but he was grateful for it purely being edible. Before he knew it he’d finished the lot and Nate disposed of the rubbish.  
“Who else was here?” Taylor built up the courage to ask eventually.  
“No one,” Nate brushed off, going to sit at the table where he turned on a small television.  
By the Spanish that came through Taylor presumed they were at least still in Mexico. The fact that they were definitely in a trailer had him worried, but every now and then he could hear the distant sounds of cars going by. He couldn’t tell if it meant they were in a trailer park or maybe just beside the road somewhere but being that close to the public gave him at least a little reassurance.  
“Lie down and get some rest. You’ll be better in the morning,” Nate murmured as he watched the screen.  
Taylor didn’t really want to, but he didn’t want a fight either. With a bit of difficulty and having to keep the chain out of the way, he managed to get down on his side where he soon dozed off again.


	103. 103

“They’ve locked down the airports and sent the identikit photos to the border patrols, but the plane you told me about is already gone.”  
“Are you serious?” Zac demanded into the phone.  
“How?” Isaac frowned, holding it between them, “there wouldn’t have been enough time to get around the SWAT cars and take a back road to the airport. We came down the back road. And we were followed from there, so surely they would have had eyes on the place?”  
“There were casualties at the airport.”  
Isaac and Zac shared a worried look.  
“Anyone we know?” Isaac dared to ask.  
“I’m not sure. Their families are yet to be notified.”  
“Send our sympathies,” Zac insisted.  
“Yeah for sure,” Isaac agreed, “too many people have died already.”  
“More than we’ll ever know, probably. We don’t know how many people were abducted before now.”  
“That’s comforting,” Zac said with sarcasm.  
“Sorry guys.”  
“Were you able to track the plane the same way we did to get here?” Isaac asked.  
“That was Rick’s forte, but I’ll get him onto it.”  
“No need, we’ll be on the phone as soon as we’re done here,” Zac insisted, “is there definitely no satellite cover for the grounds here? SWAT found a couple of roads but they can’t follow them forever.”  
“No satellite cover, sorry.”  
Zac cursed and stepped away from the phone.  
“Thanks for the update Davison,” Isaac sighed, “they’re not telling us anything on this end.”  
“That’s Washington for you. Take care guys.”  
“Thank you!” Zac called over his shoulder before Isaac hung up and immediately dialled for Rick.  
“Ike, hey!”  
“Hey Rick, listen we need a favour…”  
“I’m listening.”  
“The plane you followed to Tampico. We need you to follow it out.”  
“…What?”  
“Tay’s gone,” Zac came back to the phone.  
“What?!”  
“Long story short, we got abducted when we found the plane. SWAT team jumped when we got to the place they were holding him, and some key players got away,” Isaac told him, “and the plane’s gone.”  
“You’re kidding.”  
“Tell me you’re on the computer already,” Isaac gave Zac a short smile.  
“Of course I am. How long ago was this?”  
“About midday?” Isaac looked to Zac for confirmation who nodded, “we’ve spent all afternoon and evening in interrogation. Not that there was much to tell.”  
“How do you know it was definitely where they were keeping him if he isn’t there?”  
“We saw him,” Zac confirmed, “and it wasn’t good. We need to find him again.”


	104. 104

Taylor had barely opened his eyes before he realised it was happening again. He quickly found the edge of the bed and managed to once again throw up onto the floor. The sound woke Nate from the other side of the trailer and he quickly made his way over as Taylor began to recover.  
“What the hell?” Nate stooped to clean it up.  
Taylor just groaned as he hid his face in the bedclothes, trying to wake himself up. He still felt dizzy and he still felt sick, now with added body temperature fluctuation.  
“What’s wrong with you?” Nate demanded as he scrubbed the floor.  
“I don’t know,” Taylor managed to get out, turning his head slightly so that he could watch where Nate was.  
Nate continued cleaning until it was gone before making his way back to the bed. He grabbed Taylor’s upper arm and pulled him up into a sitting position, making Taylor groan from another dizzy spell. He flinched back when Nate put a hand to his forehead.  
“You’re burning up,” he muttered, turning back to the kitchen area.  
Taylor watched him go, soon fetching another glass of water which he came back to hand to him. Taylor took it thankfully and tried not to drink it too fast.  
“What were they feeding you?” Nate demanded.  
“Nothing,” Taylor frowned, “until yesterday I hadn’t eaten in three days. I was being punished. You know that.”  
Nate raised his hand as if to hit him but stopped as Taylor turned his head. Instead he took the glass of water back.  
“Nate I’m sick,” Taylor said in a defeated tone, “I need a doctor.”  
“I’ll decide what you do and don’t need,” Nate said with authority.  
“This isn’t just a stomach bug, Nate,” Taylor insisted, “you drugged me. With hospital-grade drugs, when I was already weak. My immune system is shot.”  
Taylor stopped when Nate made eye contact, not sure if he was getting through to him or not.  
“I need help,” Taylor’s brow furrowed in desperation.  
Nate stared at him, just long enough for Taylor to start wondering if he was simply thinking of killing him then and there to save the trouble, before he turned and walked back to the table area. Taylor watched as he picked up a jacket and abruptly left the trailer without so much as a word.  
Closing his eyes, he listened intently. He heard Nate’s footsteps walking around outside on what sounded like gravel, before a car door opened and closed again. When the ignition started Taylor opened his eyes again, wishing he could see out of at least one of the boarded up windows.  
Once the vehicle left, he immediately pushed himself forward to the edge of the bed. When his feet hit the floor he looked up toward his target – the kitchen drawer.  
He took hold of a piece of shelving with his hands in order to lower himself to his knees. Careful not to get the chain hooked on anything, he inched himself along the floor toward the small kitchen. Knowing that the chain was only barely going to reach – Nate must have shortened it when he’d first been brought here - he pulled himself up to his feet again when he felt that he was close enough. Trying not to choke himself with the collar as he reached for it, he eventually managed to get the drawer open. He sighed with relief when he saw the knives still there.  
When he finally got the nearest one into his hands, he let himself fall back onto the floor before quickly using it to cut his ankles free. That done he turned it in on his wrists, working to cut the tape there. When he finally had his wrists free he stood and went back to the bed to inspect the chain.


	105. 105

“Dammit,” Taylor cursed, sucking on his finger where he’d cut it.  
He’d been trying to use the knife to take the screws out of the rivet in the wall that his chain had been locked to. Knowing he had no chance of breaking the chain itself or picking the locks that held it in place, it was all he could think of to do. But failing access to a screwdriver or anything similar, he was struggling with what should have been a simple task.  
He didn’t know how long it had been when he finally gave up. He didn’t know how long it would be until Nate returned, and he needed an alternate solution. He knew there was no way he’d get the collar off his neck and now there was no way to get the chain from the wall, but he had one last avenue to try.  
He could still clearly hear slow traffic in the distance, and he only hoped he was actually in a trailer park or something similar. Somewhere where he could be heard.  
He sat on the bed again close to the wall where the chain was anchored. Collecting the small length of chain into his fists, he began hitting it relentlessly against the boards on the windows.  
“HELP!” he yelled, “IS ANYBODY OUT THERE?!”  
He paused between the yells, but when he heard nothing he continued on. He’d been yelling for barely a couple of minutes before he heard footsteps in the gravel outside. Panicking for a moment that Nate had returned, he reminded himself that Nate would be returning by car.  
“Help me please!” he called out when he heard the person approaching the door, “I can’t get out!”  
He sat forward as the door opened, wondering what on Earth he was going to tell anyone about why he was half naked and what had happened to him, before the man stepped inside.  
Taylor’s blood ran cold.  
“No no no…” he shook his head, moving back onto the bed and huddling into the corner, “no. NO!”  
“Shut up,” Trent scorned, not slowing in his pace as he made his way over.  
“Leave me alone!” Taylor cried as he put his hands up in defence, “leave me ALONE!”  
Trent tried to grab Taylor by the hair, but when his hands flew to his head he easily grabbed the chain instead. Pulling him forward by it, he leant down until Taylor was forced to lay on his stomach.  
“Please don’t,” Taylor whimpered, “I’m sick!”  
“You should have thought of that earlier,” Trent put a knee into his back to keep him down before easily grabbing his wrists and pulling them behind him.  
Taylor felt the cable tie go on and cringed. He looked to the side as Trent shifted in time to see him pull a handkerchief from his pocket, spinning it to tighten it before he used it to gag him with. Taylor began to protest that he might need to vomit again and that he could choke if he were gagged, but it fell on deaf ears.  
When Trent was satisfied he took the pressure off of Taylor’s back. Taylor watched as he turned and kicked a cupboard in frustration, before pulling out his cell phone and collapsing into part of the sofa. Taylor felt himself shivering as he heard him start to talk.  
“Yeah no problems. The kid was making a bit of noise. …No, nothing major. No one heard.”  
Taylor squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, before opening them again when he remembered the knife. It had to still be on the bed somewhere.  
“Yeah I can stay here, how long are you gonna be?”  
Taylor rolled onto his side, watching Trent carefully to make sure he wasn’t paying attention. Feeling around on the bed with his hands, he soon found the knife and quickly pushed it under the bed covers. Making sure he wasn’t going to accidentally lay on it, he fell forward onto his stomach again.


	106. 106

Trent sat and watched television as they waited for Nate to return. Taylor tried not to imagine what he’d be in for when Nate found out what he’d done, but with nothing else to concentrate on his mind was happily tormenting him.  
When they heard the car returning, Taylor looked up as Trent turned the television off. As Trent moved to open the door, Taylor finally drew the courage to pull himself up so that he was sitting.  
“What the heck?!” came Trent’s surprised voice.  
Taylor frowned as he heard a struggle outside, and an unknown man’s voice as well as Nate’s. Trent darted out, and a moment later someone was thrown inside the trailer so forcefully that he hit his hands and knees. Nate followed him in, setting a briefcase onto the table.  
“Get up,” Nate ordered, standing over the man.  
Taylor watched worriedly as the man – who looked a little older than Nate – struggled to pull himself to his feet. When he took a few steps back from Nate, Nate indicated Taylor. He spun and faced Taylor for the first time.  
“Oh dear God…” he breathed, a rough Texan accent slipping out.  
Taylor’s eyes shot to Nate, as he began to realise what was happening.  
“He’s sick,” Nate announced, “I want you to make him better.”  
“Excuse me?” the doctor turned back to him.  
“We put him under a general anaesthetic yesterday and he hasn’t come out of it properly,” Nate brushed over, “and now he’s throwing up whatever I give him. Fix him!”  
When all the doctor did was look at him incredulously, Nate sighed and drew a pistol from his belt.  
“Okay! Okay,” the man raised his hands, indicating for Nate to hand him his briefcase.  
Nate did so, and the doctor sat beside Taylor on the bed.  
“May I?” he checked with Nate before removing Taylor’s gag.  
“I am so sorry,” Taylor shook his head sincerely, “I had no idea-“  
“Shut up,” Nate scorned, “just tell him what’s wrong.”  
The doctor gave Taylor a sympathetic look as he shifted his legs and sat up further.  
“Well I’ve been vomiting, a few times,” Taylor offered, barely able to look the doctor in the eye, “and… sweating. And my body temperature has been up and down all night.”  
“When’s the last time you ate anything?” the doctor leant forward to feel his forehead.  
“Yesterday,” Taylor glanced at Nate, “I had a sandwich which didn’t stay down. Before that I hadn’t eaten in days.”  
“And water? How often do you drink anything?” the doctor looked concerned.  
“I had some water this morning, and last night,” Taylor offered, “but before that I’m not sure. Again it would have been a few days. But it rained so I got some of that, I guess…”  
The doctor looked confused, but held back from asking anything.  
“General anaesthetic, you say?” he looked up at Nate.  
“Yeah,” he nodded.  
The doctor paused for thought, then opened his briefcase. He pulled out a blue solution, shaking it before asking Nate for a glass of water. When Nate obliged he added the solution to the water and carefully helped Taylor to drink it.  
“This will help replace some electrolytes,” the doctor offered, “but you are severely malnourished and dehydrated. You need to get to a hospital where they can give you an IV.”  
“That’s not going to happen,” Nate denied instantly.


	107. 107

“Then he could die,” the doctor said seriously, making Taylor look at him with panic.  
“His body isn’t strong enough to fight anything off. He needs more than you can give him in order to get his strength back.”  
Taylor looked back at Nate, seeing him staring at him intently.  
“He’ll need to go on a drip, and he’ll probably need to stay in for a few days.”  
“No,” Nate said determinedly, making Taylor gulp, “what can you do? Do you have the equipment at your surgery?”  
“What? Of course not!” the doctor frowned incredulously, “he needs to go to a hospital!”  
“So there’s nothing else you can do for him then?” Nate shrugged.  
“I’ve done all that I can for him here,” the doctor insisted, “now we need to go elsewhere.”  
Nate looked over his shoulder as Trent reappeared in the doorway.  
“The good doctor’s done all he can here,” he said to him before turning away, “take him out back and shoot him.”  
“NO! Wait!” Taylor cried as the doctor froze, “please! He’s just trying to help. You just don’t want to hear the truth!”  
“I heard him,” Nate assured, “but his usefulness has just worn out. If there’s nothing more he can do then there’s no reason to keep him around.”  
“Please, I have a wife and three kids…” the doctor began shakily.  
“He’s got a wife and five,” Nate scorned, indicating Taylor.  
“Just let him go!” Taylor pleaded as Trent took the doctor’s arm, “you don’t need to kill him!”  
“Taylor, Taylor, Taylor…” Nate said condescendingly as he stepped closer to the bed, “you forget so soon what is going on here. We can’t just let him go so that he can run off and tell the world where you are.”  
“So ensure his silence!” Taylor wasn’t relenting, “he knows how serious this is. He’s probably even seen us on the news. He wouldn’t tell anyone, would you?”  
The doctor looked between them, as if not really comprehending what was happening. He eventually shook his head, obviously rattled.  
“I’m afraid we can’t just take his word for it,” Nate pulled the gun from his belt again and handed it to Trent, “and besides, since when has begging for a life ever worked in your favour?”  
“I’ll make it worth your while!” Taylor cried suddenly.  
The look Nate gave him made him immediately regret saying it.  
“And what would you do?” he looked at him curiously, stepping over to the edge of the bed and looking down at Taylor.  
Taylor’s eyes darted between Nate’s as his mind raced for an answer.  
“Anything,” his voice shook, “I’ll do anything you want.”  
Nate glanced over his shoulder, indicating for Trent to let the doctor go. Trent pushed him down onto the sofa, making sure to stay between him and door.  
“Interesting proposition,” Nate mused, folding his arms over his chest and rubbing his chin, “anything, you say?”  
Taylor closed his eyes as he felt the sweat building on his forehead again, “yes. Anything.”  
“What if I want you to submit to me. In every way?” Nate’s eyes narrowed.  
Taylor looked up at him in confusion, before a worried look crossed his face.  
“Define ‘every way’,” he said cautiously.


	108. 108

“I want to be your Master,” Nate revealed.  
Taylor felt the colour drain from his face, and he diverted his eyes.  
“You can’t say you’re out of practise,” Nate mused.  
Taylor wanted to say ‘no’ to that, but was afraid Nate would take it as denying his terms. Then the doctor would be dead.  
“You’d become my full-time slave. We’ll eventually get a house that you can look after, you’ll take care of all the cooking and the laundry…”  
Taylor couldn’t stop his eyes welling up, the words reiterating that the torment wasn’t going to end.  
“Do I have your word?”  
Taylor realised he’d lost track of what Nate had been saying when he looked up, blinking furiously to clear his eyes.  
“What’s the alternative?” Taylor asked softly.  
“Alternative?” Nate sounded surprised, “your alternative is that the good doctor dies and you spend the rest of your life with that chain around your neck.”  
“If I’m a slave, then I’m in chains anyway,” Taylor looked confused.  
Nate knelt beside the bed, and Taylor finally locked eyes with him again.  
“That could change,” Nate replied calmly.  
Taylor frowned, his eyes searching Nate’s again.  
“It would be willing servitude, not forced,” Nate explained in a tone he’d speak to a child with, “there’d be no need for restraints once I believed that I could trust you. Of course the collar would have to stay because I don’t think we could get it off without breaking your neck.”  
Taylor just stared at him steadily, knowing he was waiting for affirmation.  
“And if you agree, I’ll see about getting you to a hospital.”  
Taylor looked up at where the doctor sat awaiting his fate. They locked eyes.  
“So what’s it gonna be?” Nate tilted his head.  
“Yes,” Taylor said without stopping to think, “yes, I’ll do it.”  
“Good boy,” Nate smiled in the condescending tone the master used to use.  
Taylor diverted his eyes again as Nate turned to Trent.  
“Take the doc back to his surgery. He can tell you where it is.”  
Trent grabbed the doctor by the shoulder and pulled him up.  
“And you won’t be needing the gun,” Nate held his hand out for it.  
Trent hesitated, but complied. He handed him the pistol. Nate returned it to his belt before throwing Trent the car keys.  
“Taylor and I have some specifics to address. Don’t be too long. Oh…” Nate addressed the doctor, “and don’t think for a moment that if you tell anyone about this, we won’t kill him.”  
The doctor gave Taylor one last glance before Trent pulled him out of the trailer and closed the door behind them. As they heard them get into the car and take off, Nate sat himself on the bed beside Taylor. Taylor shifted awkwardly.  
“I’d like you to go public about it,” he said seriously.  
“What?” Taylor breathed, not sure of what he meant.  
“I’d like you to prepare a statement for the press. About how this is your choice,” Nate explained, “and that you now choose to leave your family to come to me. They don’t need to look for you any longer. You’re already home.”


	109. 109

“I’ll look after you,” Nate seemed to promise, “I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but you will get better. And be healthy. You can be my companion, and in turn I can take care of you.”  
“Like an animal?” Taylor realised, looking at him questioningly.  
“If you want to look at it that way,” Nate shrugged, “you could consider yourself my pet.”  
Taylor turned away, trying to stop new tears forming.  
“You’ve always said how sending you into slavery took your life away,” Nate had an unnerving humour in his voice, “your humanity is just the logical next step.”  
“You’re insane,” Taylor was barely breathing.  
Nate just looked at him curiously.  
“I mean I always just thought you were an asshole, but there is actually something wrong with you,” Taylor was getting riled up, “like mentally. You need medication. You need help.”  
“Maybe,” Nate considered, “but we’ll get you help first, yeah?”  
He gave Taylor a pat on the shoulder and stood up from the bed.  
“When? How?” Taylor watched him walk to a cupboard, “they’re going to wonder about the scars on my back for one.”  
Nate opened the cupboard and pulled out some clothes.  
“We took the liberty of acquiring some of your clothes last time we were in Tulsa,” he revealed, setting a white shirt on the sink and a pair of blue jeans.  
Taylor was immediately on guard again. He knew they’d been to his house, but he didn’t think they’d be brazen enough to make a return trip. Knowing that Natalie was already out of Tulsa was the only reason he didn’t panic.  
“We’ll put you in under a fake name. The photos of you that have been plastered all over the news make you look different anyhow.”  
Taylor had known once Nate admitted that he would get him help that his main chance lay with someone recognising him. But that had been something that had slipped his mind. His facial hair was back to the length it had been when he’d been abducted, but his hair was touching his shoulders.  
“I could tell them you’re my mute little brother,” Nate mused, bringing Taylor out of his daze.  
“When?” Taylor tried again.  
“We’ll go tomorrow,” Nate closed the cupboard, “until then we need to wait for Trent to return with my truck.”  
Taylor watched as Nate looked around with an almost blank expression before turning back to Taylor and returning to the bedside.  
“As your first task in becoming my slave,” he began in a casual tone, “I want you to lay on your stomach for me.”  
Taylor frowned worriedly.  
“Why?” he asked cautiously.  
“The questions also need to stop,” Nate insisted.  
“My Mistress told me to ask questions,” Taylor looked a little embarrassed.  
“Well you don’t serve her any more, you serve me,” Nate corrected, “now lay down.”  
Taylor watched as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a cable tie similar to the one already on his wrists. Not sure what he was going to do, he shifted his weight until he could slide down onto his side, then fall forward onto his stomach. Nate immediately slid the cable tie around his ankles and pulled it tight. Wincing as he felt the pull, he turned his head as Nate completed the hogtie.


	110. 110

“The plane returned to Waco,” Rick’s voice came over the phone speaker.  
“He really went back?” Isaac frowned.  
“Looks like.”  
“That doesn’t make sense,” Zac shrugged, “he must know there’s nothing there.”  
“Unless the base wasn’t the only place they were working from,” Isaac suggested.  
“Crap,” Zac grumbled.  
“Besides, he had a Texan accent,” Isaac pointed out, “so he probably lives around there somewhere.”  
“Are you guys going to head back there, or wait for the guys in Dallas to pull their fingers out of their asses?”  
“I guess we’ll head for Dallas,” Isaac looked to Zac for confirmation.  
Zac didn’t respond.  
“Or… Waco, rather. But you might want to warn them we’re coming. Can you give us directions?”  
“I could…” Rick trailed off, “but are you sure you want them?”  
“What do you mean?” Zac asked.  
“You told me that this is the guy that caught you out. This guy had Taylor grovelling on the floor at his feet-“  
“All the more reason to bring the guy down,” Zac said insistently, “and fast.”  
“And I’m with Zac on this one,” Isaac assured, “besides, I’m pretty sure I’ve dealt with worse.”  
“Bernard is a whole other cake tin,” Rick scorned, making Isaac and Zac give each other an amused glance, “this guy is smart. And prepared. And if he has Taylor? He’s only going to use him as leverage.”  
“Once again something we have experience with,” Zac pointed out.  
“Something I have experience with, you spent most of that time unconscious,” Isaac corrected.  
“Because he freakin’ shot me!”  
“Anyway I take it nothing I say is going to change your minds,” Rick cut in, “so I’ll text you the directions to the airport. If anything changes I’ll give you a call.”  
“Thanks Rick,” Zac nodded.  
“We’ll be on our way as soon as we clear it with the Feds,” Isaac informed him.  
“Bye guys.”  
Isaac hung up and rubbed his face tiredly.  
“I’m starting to feel like we’re going in circles,” he said absently.  
“Why, because we just came from Waco and now we’re going back to Waco? Whatever would give you that feeling?”  
Isaac gave him a scornful look.  
It was mid-afternoon before they got the clearance to leave Tampico. Once they had it they immediately checked out of their motel and began the drive north. Once again swapping drivers every now and then, they made it to Waco in the early hours of the following morning. Not wanting to chance anything under the cover of darkness they opted to find a motel and check in for the rest of the morning.  
“Here we go again,” Isaac sighed as he collapsed onto the bed.  
“Here we go again,” Zac agreed, reaching over to turn off the bedside lamp.  
It wasn’t long before they both fell asleep.


	111. 111

Taylor had barely slept at all. He’d long ago lost the feeling in both his hands and feet and had to turn onto his side just to keep the circulation flowing, but he was unbalanced there and had to stay awake to keep himself up. Nate had fallen asleep sometime sprawled out on the sofa with the television set playing only static.  
Taylor had been tempted many a time to try and reach the knife he’d hidden, but with Nate barely metres away he hadn’t been willing to risk it.  
It was a long time after sunlight started seeping in through the cracks in the boarded windows that Nate finally woke up. In the meantime Taylor’s sweats had started again, and the familiar pangs of nausea had hit.  
When Nate finally pulled himself up and made his way into the kitchen area he looked Taylor over curiously.  
“You’re still sick,” he said with sleepy realisation.  
“I think it’s getting worse,” Taylor’s voice croaked, trying desperately to keep the nausea in check.  
“Do you think you could eat?”  
Taylor couldn’t shake his head.  
“No,” he admitted.  
Nate watched him for a moment, then stooped to pull something from the fridge for himself. As he stood there eating in front of him, Taylor just closed his eyes.  
“We’ll go to the hospital this morning,” Nate decided before going back to sit in front of the television again.  
Taylor sighed thankfully, pushing himself further onto his back as he felt his arms shake with the strain. It was another long time before Nate finally turned off the television and made his way back to the kitchen. He opened the drawer and pulled out a serrated knife. Thankful that he didn’t seem to miss the one that Taylor had taken, Taylor watched as he made his way over. Nate grabbed him by the shoulder to pull him back over onto his stomach, grimacing at the colour of his hands.  
He quickly cut the ties, finally freeing his arms and legs. Taylor straight away rolled onto his side again so he could rub his wrists where the ties had cut in.  
“Sit up,” Nate instructed.  
Taylor did so, then watched as Nate unlocked the chain from the wall. If he hadn’t been overcome by vertigo, and he didn’t have the doctor’s life hanging over him, it would have been the perfect time to make a move.  
“Come,” Nate instructed, making sure his pistol was still in his belt before leading Taylor to the door, “and grab those clothes on your way out.”  
Not having as much length in the chain anymore Taylor was barely a few steps behind him. Once he managed to get his feet working he gladly followed, grabbing the white shirt and blue jeans from where they’d sat on the sink all night and following Nate outside. When the sunlight hit his eyes, he cringed.  
Nate led him over to a blue truck. He opened the passenger door for Taylor, before securing the chain below the seat somewhere. When he moved out of the way Taylor got in before Nate pulled out one of the cloth gags he’d previously used. As Taylor eyed it nervously wondering how he’d possibly get away with it out in the open, Nate pulled his head down and secured it around his eyes instead. When Nate finally got into the driver’s seat he instructed Taylor to lay down sideways. Not having an alternative, he did so. Once his head hit the seat Nate started them on their way.


	112. 112

“We’re here,” Nate announced as he pulled Taylor’s blindfold off.  
He also produced the key to the lock holding the chain to Taylor’s collar and removed it. Putting his hand to his throat, Taylor slowly sat up.  
“Get changed and I’ll take you in,” Nate assured, getting out of the truck.  
Taylor watched him before looking up at the hospital they’d come to. It wasn’t big, but it wasn’t small either. There were plenty of people walking around, and he was tempted to make a run for it then and there.  
But in order to comply with Nate, he grabbed the white shirt and pulled it over his head. Having not worn a shirt in almost a week he felt almost uncomfortable in it. He quickly changed into the clean set of jeans as well before opening his door and stepping out. Nate was waiting.  
“Let’s go. And let me do the talking,” he ordered.  
Taylor folded his arms across his chest, automatically following Nate’s lead. They made their way into the emergency section and were soon seen to.  
“This is my kid brother,” Nate put his hand on Taylor’s shoulder, “he fell down a well on our parents’ property a few days ago and we had no idea. If we hadn’t have found him in time…”  
He trailed off with surprisingly convincing fake emotion.  
“Right this way Sir,” the nurse instructed.  
Taylor glanced over his shoulder – his heart sinking a little when he saw Nate following – but followed her into the wards.  
“We’ll get you cleaned up and then check you over. Have you had anything to eat or drink?”  
“Just water,” Taylor offered, his voice shaky.  
“Shower’s through there. You’ll need to put this on,” she handed him a hospital gown, “your brother can wait in the waiting room.”  
“I think I’d better stay here, just in case he needs something,” Nate insisted.  
“You can come back when the doctor’s seen him,” the nurse assured before walking away.  
Nate grabbed Taylor’s arm tight enough to leave a bruise.  
“If you try anything, I will make an example of this place,” he warned at a low octave.  
“I know,” Taylor confirmed.  
He made eye contact with him for a moment before Nate let his arm go.  
“I’ll be back,” he said before turning to head back to the waiting room.  
Taylor took a quick glance around before disappearing into the shower. Grateful for his first one in weeks he lost track of time and soon had someone knocking on the door. When he got out the nurse greeted him and led him to a bed where she sat his clothes on a nearby chair and offered him a cup of water.  
Taylor took it thankfully as he waited for the doctor to show up. It wasn’t long.  
When they checked him over they decided pretty much what the first doctor had, that he was malnourished and dehydrated. They quickly set up an IV and aside from providing him with water they left him to simply rest.  
It wasn’t long after he started to think that he would finally get some rest that Nate reappeared.  
“Everything okay?” his eyes shifted almost worriedly.  
“Fine,” Taylor struggled to sit up a little as Nate moved the clothes and sat in the chair.  
“See? Told you you’d be fine,” he offered Taylor a smile.  
“You did,” Taylor agreed, not willing to close his eyes again now.


	113. 113

“That’s got to be it,” Zac pointed up ahead.  
It was late afternoon by the time they’d found the airport. Once again, they easily spotted the Cessna pulled just off the runway and not even tucked away in a shed yet.  
“Think he’s still around?” Isaac looked worried.  
“Probably,” Zac nodded, “we just have to be more careful this time.”  
“Or do we?” Isaac said thoughtfully.  
“Huh?”  
Isaac glanced across at him as he pulled over onto the side of the road.  
“We want to find this guy, right?” Isaac pointed out, “maybe we should… I don’t know.”  
“Offer ourselves as bait?” Zac finished for him.  
“Doesn’t sound good, does it?” Isaac winced.  
He looked across when Zac didn’t answer, seeing a thoughtful look on his face… “What?”  
“We shouldn’t both go,” Zac gave him a quick glance before returning his attention to the Cessna.  
“You want to go by yourself?” Isaac frowned.  
“I’m the one they know,” Zac pointed out, “apart from Tampico they’d never seen you before. You could probably get away with walking right by them.”  
“So really, I should be the one to go,” Isaac decided.  
“No,” Zac frowned, “because if you do get caught, they’re going to know I’m here somewhere anyway. And they’ll come after me.”  
“But then…” Isaac trailed off, not knowing how to word what he wanted to say.  
“Just stay here,” Zac insisted, getting out of the car.  
“Zac! Wait!” Isaac called as he rounded the car, stopping beside Isaac’s window.  
“Turn your phone on and mute it,” he suggested.  
“Good idea,” Zac was obviously nervous as he got it out.  
He called Isaac’s number, waited until Isaac answered, and then hit the mute button before slipping it back in his pocket.  
“Good luck,” Isaac said sincerely.  
Zac turned his back and began to make his way to the nearby fence. He found a hole to slip through and cautiously made his way to the nearest shed, sighting the Cessna in the distance. From experience he checked the sheds first to make sure there was no one in them before continuing on.  
When he came to the shed that the Cessna was parked in front of, he ducked back behind the wall when he heard voices.  
One he immediately recognised as the blue-eyed man. The other he didn’t know.  
He listened carefully to the conversation that followed which involved the blue-eyed man instructing the other how to pack the plane. The name Charlie was mentioned but he wasn’t sure who it was in relation to. When he heard their footsteps coming closer to the door, he slipped further down the side of the shed so that he couldn’t be seen from where the plane was.  
Digesting that there was only the two of them there, he wondered if Taylor was still on the plane… or if he was actually there at all. Closing his eyes and trying to psych himself up, he took a deep breath before stepping out into the shed.  
“Hey guys,” he greeted, hands in the air in surrender.  
The two men looked up in surprise, and Zac gulped when he saw the collar on the second one. It was the same style collar Taylor had been wearing at the base.


	114. 114

“Who are you?” the blue-eyed man demanded.  
“Right, you probably don’t recognise me without the chains and the bruises,” Zac said absently.  
“The younger Hanson brother…” the man realised, stepping forward as Zac lowered his hands.  
“I don’t want any trouble,” Zac insisted, their eyes meeting in stride, “I’m just looking for my brother.”  
“Then you’ve come to the wrong place,” the man stopped a few feet in front of him, “he’s not here.”  
Zac frowned.  
“Then where is he?” he asked.  
“With the Mexican woman who owns him, I’d presume.”  
“The house was raided, everyone got arrested,” Zac informed him, “weren’t you there?”  
“Do I look like I’ve been arrested?” the man said condescendingly as he turned away.  
Zac only realised the hairs on the back of his neck had been standing on end when they broke eye contact.  
“I would suggest forgetting about him and getting on with your own life.”  
“No,” Zac scowled instantly, “I’m not giving up on him. He’s my brother.”  
“Suit yourself,” he indicated for the other man to continue loading the plane, “but my guess is that you will never find him.”  
“What about Nate?” Zac was tempted to step forward but held himself back.  
“What about him?” the man paused.  
“Do you know where he is?” Zac had to check, “maybe he knows something about it.”  
“I am the last person Nathaniel would want to know where he is right now,” the man said cryptically as he watched the plane being loaded.  
“Why’s that?” Zac was honestly curious.  
“Because I intend to kill him. As do a lot of other people.”  
Zac blanched at how casually he spoke about it. Racing for the right thing to ask, he absently rubbed his face.  
“What did he do? To warrant that?” he dared to ask.  
“He took you and your brother into our program without informing us prior of your circumstances.”  
“Our circumstances?” Zac frowned.  
“Your status,” the man seemed to get agitated, “Nathaniel let personal issues and greed get in the way of doing his job correctly.”  
“So he’s an ass, we knew that,” Zac shrugged, “but you really want to kill him because he brought us in just out of pure hate?”  
“No. I want to kill him because he jeopardised the entire project by bringing in subjects who were in the public eye,” the man locked eyes with him again, “now kindly take your leave before I’m tempted to use you as a starting point for our next venture, 353.”  
Zac immediately raised his hands in surrender, not expecting the option.  
“Don’t need to tell me twice,” he assured, “thanks for your help.”  
Without waiting for a reply, Zac bolted. He chanced a look over his shoulder once he was clear of the shed to make sure he wasn’t being watched or followed, then ran all the way back to the car.  
It wasn’t until he was safely inside that Isaac ended the call.  
“You heard all that, right?” Zac’s eyes darted.  
“I did,” Isaac nodded, immediately starting the car and pulling back onto the road.


	115. 115

It was long after dark by the time Nate was convinced to take his leave. He reassured Taylor that he wouldn’t be far away, opting to sleep in the truck for the night. Taylor was making a difficult trip to the bathroom with help from a nurse to keep the IV out of the way when on his return trip he felt someone touch his arm.  
“Taylor?”  
He flinched as the name left her lips, turning to see a slight Mexican girl in a nurse’s uniform. He was aware that Nate had checked him in under a false name, though he couldn’t quite remember what it was.  
“Oh my gosh,” she covered her mouth with her hand, “I’ve been a fan since- What are you doing in Mexico?”  
Taylor quickly hushed her, pulling her aside. He didn’t trust Nate not to at least try and sneak back in at some point in the night.  
“What happened to you?” the nurse frowned, “are you okay?”  
“I need you to leave,” Taylor said to her seriously.  
“Oh,” she looked taken aback, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend-“  
“No, you don’t understand,” Taylor insisted, “I need you to leave the hospital, and not come back. For at least a few days. He can’t know that you’re here.”  
“Who?” she began to look frightened as Taylor kept an eye out.  
He froze as he saw shadows moving in the distance.  
“I need you to tell them where I am. Can you do that?” he ignored her questions.  
“You’re scaring me,” she admitted, putting a hand to her chest for emphasis.  
“I know, and I’m sorry,” Taylor gave her an apologetic look, “but please, you’re the only chance I’ve got. And if he finds out you know who I am, he could kill everyone in this hospital.”  
The girl looked at him wide eyed, and he instantly regretted his decision to confide in her. He just didn’t see what other choice he had – she’d recognised him after all.  
“Please, I need you to go,” he reiterated.  
“Who am I supposed to tell?” she looked confused.  
“Anyone,” Taylor shook his head, “my brothers will find you.”  
His head shot up as he heard footsteps in the hall.  
“Go! Run!” he exclaimed in a hushed whisper, before turning to head back to his bed.  
The girl watched him for a moment, before slipping back into the hallway. He heard her pass the other footsteps without incident and sighed thankfully. When he heard them arrive at the doorway he looked up to see one of the doctors passing by.  
He shakily ran his fingers through his hair as he returned to the bed, carefully setting the IV line aside so that he could get in. At least he didn’t feel so sick anymore. If someone came for him he was confident he’d now be able to move.  
He’d barely closed his eyes in an effort to get back to sleep when he felt someone’s presence nearby. When he opened his eyes he jumped when he saw Nate standing over him.  
“What are you doing here?” he caught his breath.  
“I got worried,” Nate admitted, before Taylor noticed something in his hands.  
Cable ties.  
“Nate I’m not going anywhere,” he tried to reassure him, “I just need recovery time.”  
“I don’t know if I should take your word for it,” Nate fidgeted nervously.


	116. 116

“What can I do to prove to you that I will not try anything?” Taylor asked, at this point desperate just to get some sleep, “if you’ve ordered me to stay, then I need to stay.”  
“I should at least bind your ankles,” Nate said thoughtfully.  
“Then what happens if they need me to stand up?” Taylor pointed out.  
Nate didn’t move, just remained staring at him in an unnerving manner.  
“Look, I know this makes you uncomfortable,” Taylor tried to reason in a calming tone, “but it’s only temporary. In a couple of days we’ll leave and it’ll be as if this never happened. We can do whatever you want. But right now, I need this.”  
“You’re very demanding all of a sudden,” Nate frowned.  
“I know, and I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be,” Taylor apologised even though he wasn’t sure he should, “just… sit with me if you need to. They’re expecting me to be asleep, so no one should disturb us all night.”  
Taylor reasoned that if Nate was in the room with him, the nurse had a better chance of escaping without him seeing her. If all went well he could be rescued by morning.  
Nate stepped over to the chair and took a seat, his thumb still caressing the cable ties in his hand. Taylor’s eyes didn’t leave them, paranoid that if he looked away for a split second they’d be on him.  
“How do you feel?” he jumped as Nate’s voice broke the silence.  
“Better. A lot better,” Taylor reassured.  
“Do you think you’ll be alright by tomorrow?”  
“I don’t know,” Taylor frowned, “probably not if I don’t get some sleep.”  
“So sleep,” Nate shrugged.  
Taylor didn’t want to risk angering him by suggesting that he was the reason Taylor couldn’t sleep, so instead he gingerly lay himself down on the bed again – careful to keep the IV line out of the way.  
“What about you?” he asked nervously.  
“I’ll keep watch,” Nate responded.  
“For what?” Taylor frowned as his eyes forcibly slid closed.  
When Nate didn’t reply he opened them again, seeing Nate return the ties to his jacket pocket. Breathing slightly easier he turned onto his side toward Nate, keeping his left arm clear for the tube and folding his right arm over his stomach.  
“Can I ask you something?” he squinted tiredly.  
“What?” Nate grumbled, obviously not in the mood to humour him.  
Taylor paused as he worked himself up to what he wanted to ask.  
“This isn’t about Bernard, is it?” he asked finally in a timid voice, “originally, maybe… but not anymore.”  
Nate just rested his elbow on the arm of the chair and put his head in his hand, watching him.  
“It’s about me,” Taylor went on, “you just wanted me. Like an obsession or something. Am I right?”  
“You think I’m obsessed with you?” Nate’s eyebrows rose in boredom.  
“No I think you’re obsessed with an idea,” Taylor clarified, “and you’re trying your best to make it happen. You were watching us before we came to you, weren’t you?”  
Nate paused, but nodded.  
“How long?” Taylor asked, only his deep tiredness keeping him calm.  
“Years,” Nate replied openly, “I even went to concerts. I did a Walk in Chicago, that was cool…”  
Taylor closed his eyes at the revelation, not sure how to respond.


	117. 117

“How didn’t I see you in Chicago?” Taylor frowned.  
“There were a few hundred people there and I was toward the back. Most of the kids thought I was someone’s father,” Nate mused, “I liked the speech you gave. It was very inspiring.”  
Taylor closed his eyes sleepily, wondering how long he could keep the banter up. Nate had never opened up to him so much and he knew he needed to take advantage. He just needed to stay conscious.  
“Thank you,” he said softly, “we put a lot of work into them.”  
“I know. I think The Walk album was my favourite, too. Not that the last one wasn’t good, it was just a bit too… jolly.”  
Taylor looked confused, but decided to brush it off.  
“You bought the albums?” he tried to keep the conversation going.  
“Of course. All of them. And the DVDs.”  
“Just to keep tabs on us?” Taylor’s brow furrowed.  
“Just to keep up with you,” Nate shrugged.  
Taylor could feel his eyes starting to well up again and stubbornly wiped the moisture away.  
“Have I upset you?” Nate frowned.  
“No, no,” Taylor lied, now more worried than ever before of saying the wrong thing, “I ah… I appreciate it. You were trying to watch out for me. Right?”  
“Right,” Nate smiled, leaning back into the chair.  
When Taylor closed his eyes again he realised his adrenaline was now pumping too much to let him sleep. Taking a deep breath he opened his eyes again when he heard Nate shift.  
“Have you thought any more about your press statement?”  
“My what?” Taylor had honestly forgotten.  
“Your statement. About choosing to come and live with me.”  
“No, I’m sorry,” Taylor admitted, diverting his eyes.  
“That’s okay. There’s plenty of time. You should get some sleep.”  
Taylor just nodded and closed his eyes, wondering if he’d ever actually sleep again.

*

“Do you think he’s still in Tampico?” Zac’s eyebrows rose.  
“I don’t know,” Isaac looked worried as he watched the road, “I’m more worried about Nate being unaccounted for.”  
“You think he knows what happened?”  
“I think anything’s possible at this point,” Isaac shrugged, “Tay could be with the Mexican woman, he could be with Nate, he could be freaking anywhere.”  
“Obviously somewhere he can’t leave or we would have heard something by now.”  
Isaac looked down as his cell phone started ringing. When the car kit picked up, he noticed Zac frown at the name on the screen.  
“Hello?”  
“Isaac? It’s Carlson.”  
“Davison’s trying to call too,” Zac whispered as he watched the phone go berserk.  
“Where are you?” Carlson sounded like he was running.  
“We’re just passing through Dallas on our way back to Tulsa, why?” Isaac frowned.  
“Turn around,” Carlson responded immediately, “Taylor’s in Reynosa.”


	118. 118

Taylor was jolted awake by voices talking over his bed. When he opened his eyes he saw Nate arguing with a nurse.  
“But he looks fine! We came to you for help, we got it, and now we can leave!”  
“Just because your brother looks fine on the outside, it doesn’t mean he’s healthy on the inside,” the nurse was trying to explain.  
“You’re lying. You’re trying to keep him here!”  
Realising Nate was getting agitated to a dangerous point, Taylor sat up in the bed.  
“What’s going on?” he asked, blinking the sleep away.  
“Your brother is trying to get you released prematurely,” the portly nurse said scornfully.  
“But we talked about this,” Taylor was confused, “they said it could be a couple of days-“  
“I don’t care!” Nate exclaimed, making Taylor jump, “we’re leaving this morning and that’s final! Get up and get dressed, now!”  
Taylor looked to the exasperated nurse, hoping she could help him somehow. But anything she said just seemed to get Nate riled up, and while he knew he’d probably bear the brunt of his anger at a later time, Taylor knew he had to at least try to pacify him and get him out of the hospital.  
“Okay! Okay,” Taylor held up his hand as he tried to calm him down, “we’ll leave, okay? I’ll get dressed and we can just walk out.”  
The nurse threw her hands up in surrender and walked away as Nate turned back to him with a glare on his face.  
“Hurry up!” he demanded, making Taylor jump again.  
Taylor carefully pulled the IV out of his arm, holding his thumb over the wound as it bled a little. As he sat up Nate put his clothes onto the bed, indicating for him to go to the bathroom to change.  
When Taylor had gotten over the slight dizzy spell from sitting up so fast he complied, taking the clothes to the bathroom and quickly getting dressed. By the time he stepped out again the nurse was nowhere to be seen.  
“Come on,” Nate grabbed him by the arm and led him to the door.  
Figuring he’d find out what happened later on when he wasn’t so agitated, Taylor was silent as he was led out to the truck. As he sat in the passenger seat he happened to look up, seeing a few people staring in his direction. He couldn’t dwell on it for long before Nate reattached the chain to his collar.  
“Turn,” Nate ordered, shoving Taylor’s shoulder forward.  
He felt Nate pull his hands behind his back, slipping a cable tie around his wrists before pushing him down onto the seat again and closing the door. He heard his footsteps walk around the vehicle to the driver’s side before seeing him get in.  
“Stay down,” he ordered as he started the truck and pulled out of the parking space.  
Knowing it wasn’t a good time to test him, Taylor did as he was told. In his head he was cursing that he couldn’t have stayed at the hospital just a little while longer, so that maybe the nurse could have gotten the word out in time.  
Closing his eyes he tried to shrug it off. But he’d been so close…  
It was a while before he heard them pull off onto gravel, and when they came to a stop he was able to sit up again. They were back at the trailer.  
Nate came around to collect him, fetching the chain from under the seat. He was soon led back inside and the chain was secured to the wall again, Taylor left on the bed as Nate shut the door.


	119. 119

“You actually spoke to him?” Zac looked hopeful.  
“I did,” the girl nodded, shakily.  
It was early afternoon by the time Isaac and Zac had made it to Reynosa. They’d been led via Carlson’s directions to the Southern outskirts, and had soon met up with the young nurse at a police station nearby the hospital.  
“What did he say? And I mean exactly, word for word?” Isaac was staring intently.  
“He told me that I had to leave the hospital,” the girl hugged herself, “for at least a few days. Because if someone found out that I knew who he was they’d kill everyone in the hospital.”  
“He? He definitely said ‘he’?” Zac confirmed.  
She nodded.  
“Nate,” Zac looked to Isaac, who ignored him.  
“What else?” Isaac asked.  
“He wanted me to tell someone that he was there. I asked who, and he said it didn’t matter. He said you’d find me,” she looked between them, “I guess he was right.”  
“So you didn’t see where he went? You don’t know anyone that saw where they went?” Zac shook his head.  
“He told me to get out, so I got out,” the girl said pointedly.  
“That’s okay,” Isaac gave Zac a glance, “plenty of people saw them leave. There’s a description of the truck being sent out. We’ll find them.”  
The girl nodded as Isaac stood to leave the room.  
“Excuse me,” she got up to stop them, “I’m sorry to bring it up, but… is there any chance I could get an autograph?”  
“If we find Taylor, we will personally fly you to every show on the next tour,” Zac insisted, getting a surprised look from Isaac.  
“Oh my gosh are you serious?!”  
“Deadly,” Zac looked to Isaac, shrugged, and led the way out of the room.  
“We’ve gathered security footage from the hospital and identified the truck,” Carlson began as he met them in the hallway.  
“And?” Isaac asked as they walked.  
“And it was stolen a few weeks ago. In Tampico.”  
“It’s gotta be Nate,” Zac said.  
“Wait… security footage?” Isaac stopped in his tracks, “so you’d know if it was Nate, right?”  
Carlson nodded.  
“It is,” he revealed, “he brought your brother in, pretending to be his brother. He was treated for dehydration and malnutrition. He was there not even twenty four hours before Nate dragged him out again.”  
“So he’s still not well,” Zac realised as he and Isaac shared a glance.  
“He’d be better than when he went in,” Carlson offered.  
“If it got to the point where Nate was willing to take him to a hospital and risk exposure…” Isaac shook his head worriedly, “it must have been bad.”  
“Or Taylor talked him into it,” Zac suggested, “can we track the truck with traffic cams?”  
“Sorry,” Carlson shook his head, “most of them aren’t operational here.”  
“Of course not,” Isaac sighed, “so what do we do now?”


	120. 120

Taylor’s eyes fluttered open as Nate’s footsteps strode across the trailer toward him. Quickly realising what was going to happen, he tried to sit himself up but couldn’t get there in time with his hands still bound behind his back.  
“Who did you tell?!” Nate demanded, grabbing the chain and pulling him up by it.  
Taylor choked until he could get to his knees.  
“No one! I swear!” he coughed, before being hit across the face.  
“You’re lying!” Nate scorned, before stepping aside and thrusting the chain so that Taylor had to look behind him.  
The television was turned in his direction, and he could clearly see the Mexican nurse on the screen.  
His face lost colour.  
“What did you tell her?!” Nate’s voice rose.  
“Nothing! I told her nothing,” Taylor panicked, “she must have seen us leave or something. I didn’t talk to her, I swear!”  
“So you didn’t tell her to get out of the hospital as fast as she could?” Nate sneered.  
Taylor closed his eyes, knowing he’d lost the argument.  
Nate hit him again and then threw him back onto the bed.  
“I’m sorry!” Taylor winced, having fallen onto his side.  
“Oh you’ll be sorry,” Nate promised, digging out his cell phone and dialling.  
Taylor watched with worry as he made the call, wondering if he should go for the knife now.  
“Trent, hey. Have you seen the news?” Nate scratched his head, ignoring Taylor.  
“Yeah I know. But they’re on the lookout for the truck, so I need to dump it. Can you come and watch him for the night while I get us another car?”  
Taylor cringed, letting his head hit the bed again.  
“Great. See you when you get here,” and Nate hung up.  
He went to one of the kitchen drawers and pulled out some more cable ties. Seeing what he was doing, Taylor tried to sit up again.  
“Stay down,” Nate almost growled, pushing him over onto his stomach.  
Taylor closed his eyes as he felt the tie go around his ankles, before Nate pulled them up so he could put him into another hogtie.  
“Nate I can’t stay like this, it hurts,” Taylor pleaded.  
“Good,” Nate said simply, pulling it tight.  
Taylor groaned as he did so before watching as Nate went back to the drawer. When he saw him remove a new roll of duct tape he cringed again.  
“Nate, please, I’m not going to try anything I swear,” he tried again.  
“Because you’re so trustworthy,” Nate scorned, pulling a hanky from his pocket.  
He stepped over and threw the tape onto the bed beside Taylor’s face before pulling him up by the hair. As Taylor cried out he shoved the handkerchief in his mouth before biting off a length of tape which he easily fit around his jawline. Defeated, Taylor collapsed down onto the bed again when he was let go.  
Nate made his way to a cupboard where he revealed a radio Taylor hadn’t seen before. He set it on the table beside the television and turned it on, blasting some music so heavy that Taylor couldn’t even decipher it. Satisfied that the noise of the radio would cover anything Taylor might do to draw attention, he grabbed his keys and left the trailer.


	121. 121

It wasn’t long before Nate returned with Trent in tow.  
“I’ve got tape and ties in here,” he opened the drawer to show him, “and if anything happens there’s some tranks in here.”  
He opened the drawer below as Taylor’s eyes widened. He hadn’t known that Nate had stocked sedatives, but then figured he must have been afraid to use them after making him sick.  
He twisted his wrists helplessly as Nate stepped over to him again, once again grabbing him by the hair and pulling his head up. When Taylor let out a muffled cry Nate hit him across the face again.  
“I’ll be back soon,” Taylor wasn’t sure if he was talking to him or Trent, “then we’ll work on some discipline.”  
Taylor groaned as his head hit the bed again, his left eye squinting where he was sure it was going to swell. He watched as Nate left the trailer and Trent took up his place on the sofa, opting to play with his cell phone rather than watch the television while the radio was still on loud.  
Taylor felt himself shaking as he kept his eyes open just enough to know if Trent moved.

*

Zac and Isaac looked up as Carlson came into the interrogation room the boys had used to regroup.  
“We just got a call from a gas station out at El Oasis. The attendant there this afternoon spotted Nate’s truck,” he informed them.  
Zac immediately stood.  
“And Taylor?” Isaac checked.  
“He didn’t say. But he gave a positive ID of the driver,” Carlson assured, “and that’s what we need.”  
“So let’s go,” Zac looked between them, “he’s either got to be around there somewhere, or the stop is somewhere between where he’s based and the hospital.”  
“El Oasis is the very outer region of suburban Reynosa,” Carlson advised, “there’s every chance he’s based somewhere with no population further out.”  
“And?” Zac frowned.  
“I’m just saying,” Carlson raised his hands in surrender.  
“So let’s go,” Zac insisted, leading the way out.  
“I guess we’re going,” Isaac shrugged, finally getting up and following.  
“Want me to send a squad car out with you?” Carlson offered.  
“We’ll keep our distance,” Isaac promised, “if we find anything we’ll let you know first.”  
“Okay,” Carlson relented, shaking his head knowing an argument wasn’t worth the hassle.  
“Can you tell us exactly where this gas station is?”  
“I’ll text you the directions myself,” Carlson closed the door behind them, not even seeing Zac in the hallway.  
“Thanks,” Isaac gave him a pat on the shoulder before heading for the exit.  
He met Zac in the parking lot, waiting by the car.  
“Do we want a squad car?” Isaac paused at the opposite door.  
“Just get in and drive,” Zac scorned.  
Isaac rolled his eyes and unlocked the car so they could both get in. As they did he received the text from Carlson with the directions, so he handed the phone to Zac as he started the car.  
“Here we go again,” Zac sighed.  
“Here we go again,” Isaac agreed, “let’s get closer this time though, yeah?”  
Zac smirked as they pulled out.


	122. 122

Taylor kept his eye on Trent, afraid that he’d move if he dared close them.  
It took Trent’s phone falling from his hand to the floor for Taylor to realise what had happened. Trent had fallen asleep.  
Taylor lifted his head to make sure he saw what he saw. How Trent could fall asleep with the music blasting so loud, he had no idea. But Taylor suddenly knew that if he had any chance, this was going to be it.  
With difficulty he rolled onto his side. Squeezing his fists to try and get the blood circulating again, he quickly began searching the bedcovers for the knife he’d hidden there. Just when he began to panic that Nate must have found it and removed it, his fingers hit the blade. Ignoring the sting of the cuts he managed to grab it and take hold of the handle.  
Turning his attention back to Trent he worked vigorously to cut the ties on his wrists. It took longer than he expected, but he finally managed to tug hard enough to snap what was left.  
Carefully now, he sat up on the bed, keeping his eyes cautiously on Trent as he worked to free his ankles. He winced when he saw that they’d been bleeding – a result of how tight Nate had made the ties. Once he finally had his ankles free, he carefully slid his feet to the floor and stood.  
He eyed the rivet where the chain sat anchored to the wall. Knowing he hadn’t had any luck before, he pushed against the wall to test its strength. He sighed with relief when he realised it was only plywood.  
Sparing Trent another glance, he set one of his feet against the wall by the rivet, and wrapped the chain around his fists. Saying a prayer in his head that it wouldn’t be too loud, he gave three hard tugs before the rivet suddenly pulled a hole in the wall.  
Falling backwards onto the bed, his eyes darted up to Trent again. There’d been no movement.  
Keeping the knife in his hand he got off the bed and made his way to the drawers, opening the third one down. He blinked as he spotted the five loaded syringes, grabbing two to shove in his back pocket and a third which he removed the cap from. Not bothering to get any air bubbles out, he cautiously made his way over to Trent.  
The man was out cold, sprawled out with his legs toward the door, an arm hanging down, and his head turned into the corner. Unable to gulp while he was still gagged, Taylor braced himself before suddenly lunging forward. The needle hit Trent in the neck and Taylor immediately depressed the plunger.  
“MOTHERF-“ Trent screamed as he awoke, grabbing his neck.  
When he saw Taylor standing over him he lunged for him. Taylor managed to grab his arm and push him back down onto the sofa just in time for Trent’s eyes to roll to the back of his head. Taylor immediately pulled the tape from his mouth and spat out the handkerchief, finally taking a much-needed deep breath.  
Waiting a moment to make sure Trent was out, Taylor began checking his pockets. He came up with a set of car keys, a wallet with minimal cash, and a pocketknife. Grimacing that there wasn’t at the very least a gun, he spun the car keys into his fist and made for the door.  
Hesitating with his hand on the door, he prayed again that Nate wasn’t outside. The volume of the music hadn’t allowed him to hear him even leave. Finally braving it, he opened the door. A white car that was presumably Trent’s was all that Taylor could see.  
He quickly ran over to it and tried the different keys. When he found the right one he got in and started it, looking over his shoulder as he backed up before taking off down the gravel track.


	123. 123

“Okay,” Zac sighed as he got back in the car with fresh coffees, “guy said they headed south on the main highway.”  
“They?” Isaac raised an eyebrow as he took his coffee.  
“Well, Nate. Still no Tay sighting,” Zac pulled a face, “you okay to keep driving? It’s getting late.”  
“I’m fine,” Isaac insisted, taking a sip before setting the coffee down and starting the car again.  
He pulled out of the parking space and began to head down the highway. They hadn’t gone far when Zac spotted something off the side of the road.  
“Pull over,” he insisted, hitting Isaac on the shoulder.  
Isaac immediately did so, and Zac jumped out. He ran back down the side of the road a couple of hundred yards before leaning over the barrier.  
“IKE!” he yelled back, “what was the plate on Nate’s truck?!”  
Isaac paused where he’d gotten out of the car to follow him, grabbing his phone from his pocket and looking it up. He relayed it to Zac, and from this far away he could see his brother’s expression change.  
“You’d better come see this,” he said, before jumping the barrier and disappearing into the darkness.  
Turning to lock up the car via remote, Isaac turned back and jogged over to where Zac had disappeared. He felt a chill go down his spine when he spotted the truck partially hidden in the trees.  
“How did you see that from the road?!” he called, not seeing where Zac was.  
“Only just!” came the reply.  
Isaac heard one of the doors open and suddenly wished he’d brought a flashlight along.  
“Is anyone there?!” Isaac dreaded the answer, but he had to ask.  
“No!” came the response.  
Isaac squinted as he tried to see what Zac was doing as a few different noises came from the truck. A moment later Zac appeared empty handed. He made his way back up to the barrier and jumped over.  
“It’s definitely Nate’s truck,” Zac looked forlorn.  
“He must know they’re onto him,” Isaac shook his head, “why else would he dump it?”  
Zac just shrugged and began walking back toward the car.  
“There wasn’t anything that could help us?” Isaac checked.  
“Nope,” Zac sighed.  
They made it back to the car, Isaac setting his phone in the cark kit and dialling Carlson’s number. They quickly informed him of what they’d found – and that Zac had been in it if they wanted prints from it – before they pulled out to continue down the highway.  
Not far away they came across another gas station.  
“Pull in here,” Zac insisted, “maybe they saw something.”  
“If he came from the other direction they wouldn’t have seen the truck,” Isaac pointed out.  
“They could have doubled back, you never know,” Zac said, “but he had to go somewhere after dumping it.”  
Without another word Isaac pulled up outside and Zac got out to head in. Approaching the guy at the counter, Zac cleared his throat.  
“Hey, I’m wondering if you could help me…” he began in a friendly voice, “I’m looking for someone.”  
“Then look no further,” came a voice from Zac’s side.


	124. 124

“Nate,” Zac sighed, turning to face him head on, “we finally meet outside of a cell screen.”  
“Oh, you’re forgetting the freezer so soon?” Nate tilted his head.  
Zac just glared at him.  
“If you’re looking for Taylor, he’s not here,” Nate offered.  
“Then where is he?” Zac demanded, “we know you have him. He must be nearby.”  
“And what if I don’t want to tell you where he is?” Nate shrugged.  
“Then we’ll find another way to make you talk,” Zac immediately pulled out his cell phone.  
“I wouldn’t do that,” Nate took the gun from his belt and aimed.  
Zac’s hands immediately went up as the attendant ducked below the counter and hit the silent alarm.  
“Okay fine,” Zac shrugged, “I’m putting it away.”  
He slowly lowered his hand to replace the phone to his pocket. Nate suddenly aimed to the right and shot at the counter. The bullet bounced off the countertop and hit the display behind, making Zac duck out of the way and the attendant yell out in fright.  
“Stop moving,” Nate ordered.  
“Right. Okay,” Zac kept his hands in the air, still holding the phone, “what do you want, Nate?”  
“To leave without hassle,” Nate replied with a pointed look.  
“No one’s stopping you,” Zac assured.  
Nate looked at him curiously, and Zac seemed to pick up on something he hadn’t noticed before. The look in Nate’s eyes just wasn’t quite right.  
“Nate?” Zac frowned.  
He seemed to snap back to reality.  
“I need a car,” he admitted, “do you have one?”  
“I do, but Isaac’s in there,” Zac was up front, “his phone is in the car kit. The moment you step out of here he’ll be on the phone to the Feds.”  
“You just told me no one was stopping me from leaving!” Nate’s voice rose as he stepped forward.  
Zac took a step back, his eyes on the gun which was waving dangerously. He wondered for a moment if Nate was drunk.  
“And no one is,” he tried again, “you just have to go out the back.”  
Nate looked around the store, but they were alone aside from the attendant. He made his way over and jumped up onto the counter. Zac took the split second that his attention was diverted to speed dial Isaac’s number. Once he picked up he hit mute and slid it into his pocket.  
“Do you have a car?” Nate demanded, the gun pointed at the attendant.  
“Take it!” the kid offered, throwing him the keys.  
Nate caught them easily before jumping down again.  
“You, out the back,” he waved the gun at Zac.  
“Why?” Zac frowned.  
“Because you ask too many questions. Now move!”  
“That doesn’t even make sense,” Zac shook his head, but moved nonetheless.  
He made it to the back door in time for Nate to grab him by the shoulder. Feeling the gun digging into his side, he realised they were headed for the little black hatchback parked by a side door.  
“You’re taking me with you?” Zac realised, not willing to fight while the gun sat where it was.  
“The less people around that can identify me, the better,” Nate shrugged off.


	125. 125

Taylor knew he was lost. It was a long drive before he even found a main road – a lot longer than when Nate had taken him to the hospital. On the positive side he was sure by going the wrong way that he wouldn’t accidentally run into Nate on the way out.  
Finally on bitumen, Taylor picked up speed. He didn’t appear to be in a civilised area, and it did cross his mind that he might be blindingly headed out toward the desert. When he did pass cars headed in the opposite direction, he resisted the urge to call on them for help. He remembered all too well the car accident eight years ago that had resulted in meeting Trent for the first time, and while it wasn’t likely to happen again he knew that Nate was out looking for a new car.  
Worried that he was almost out of fuel, he was relieved when he finally came across a road sign.  
“San Fernando – Reynosa,” he said out loud, quickly running it through his head to work out where he might be.  
Not knowing Mexico all that well was discouraging, but Reynosa at least sounded familiar. With that in mind he turned left and headed for the border city. Minutes later he’d hit civilisation and there was finally other traffic on the road.  
When he came into the city he began to worry about getting off the highway. He knew it was coming to an end up ahead and he didn’t know where to go next. Some of the signs he’d passed had indicated the direction of the United States border, so he eventually decided to just follow their lead.  
He hadn’t gone far after the main turnoff before he saw flashing lights in his mirrors.  
“About time,” he muttered, knowing full well he’d been going over the speed limit for the entire journey so far.  
He pulled off the side of the road and looked over his shoulder as he saw the officers pull up behind him. Only one got out of the car and made his way over. He asked Taylor something in Spanish.  
“I’m sorry, I don’t know Spanish,” Taylor shook his head.  
It was then that the officer shone his flashlight in the car for the first time, immediately seeing the chain hanging down.  
He let out an exclamation in Spanish before stepping back. Taylor’s eyes darted worriedly.  
“Can you step out of the car, Sir?” the officer asked with a thick accent.  
“Sure,” Taylor was relieved, opening the car door and stepping out.  
The end of the chain fell to the bitumen and he suddenly felt a little embarrassed by it. Cars continued to pass them, the majority not paying them any mind.  
“Do you have identification?” the officer was looking him up and down, pausing the flashlight at both his wrists and ankles where there were obvious wounds.  
“No, I’m sorry,” Taylor shook his head, “but my name is Taylor Hanson.”  
“Wait here,” the officer insisted, before walking back to his car.  
Taylor looked back down the highway worriedly. He hoped he was far enough away, but there was still a minor chance that Nate would have come this far.  
Self-consciously he gathered the chain up and stuffed it into one of his jean pockets as he waited.  
He flinched as the flashlight shone in his eyes again before the officer made his way back over.  
“Taylor Hanson, you say?”  
“Yes Sir,” Taylor couldn’t help but be hopeful.  
“You’ll be wanting to come with us,” the officer indicated for him to follow him back.  
“Very much so,” Taylor agreed, gladly obliging.


	126. 126

Zac was looking out the window wondering how things had gone so wrong so fast.  
As far as he knew the call with Isaac was still connected, but he wasn’t willing to check over his shoulder if they were being followed in case Nate got curious. He was currently in the back seat of the car, wrists bound behind him with a thick cable tie.  
“Are you taking me to Taylor?” he chanced asking.  
“Maybe, but probably not,” Nate responded.  
Zac frowned. Something had changed with Nate since the last time he’d dealt with him. Not that he’d seen him for long either time, but his very demeanour now was unsettling.  
It wasn’t all that long before they hit a gravel track, and Zac couldn’t see anything about where they were going. He’d paid attention until they turned off the bitumen so he had a vague idea of where they were, but now there were no markers to go by.  
When he finally saw the trailer in the distance his heart skipped a beat.  
Nate pulled up beside it, muttering something about another car. In a flash he was out the door and running for the trailer door.  
Shocked by his sudden departure Zac took a moment to gather himself before turning himself in the seat so that he could reach the doorknob. He cursed when he realised the child locks were on and immediately tried to fit his foot down the side of the front seat to find the lever to push it down.  
Suddenly remembering the call with Isaac he began quickly reciting the directions up to the gravel road in the hopes that Isaac would hear him. He didn’t manage to get to the lever before Nate reappeared.  
He made his way to Zac’s door – anger showing clearly in his stride – and pulled it open. Grabbing Zac by the shoulder he pulled him out and led him back to the trailer, pushing him inside.  
Zac’s eyes immediately fell on a man passed out on the sofa, droplets of blood coming from his neck and a discarded syringe beside him. There was a knife on the table beside a radio and a television – the radio blasting painfully loud. Nate leant over and turned it off before shoving Zac down the other end. Obediently, he sat on the bed there.  
Nate began rummaging through the kitchen, angrily pulling drawers out and slamming them closed. Zac took the opportunity to look around. There were broken cable ties on the bed, and a hole in one of the walls about the size of a fist but the wrong shape for one. His face lost colour when he realised that Taylor must have been here.  
“Two left…” Nate was muttering to himself, holding up a pair of syringes like the empty one on the sofa, “DAMMIT!”  
Zac kept his eyes plastered to Nate, wishing he had access to the knife on the other side of the room. Nate took a moment to pull himself together before grabbing another cable tie from a drawer and stepping back over to Zac.  
“Lay down,” he ordered.  
“Why?” Zac demanded.  
Nate hit him across the face and used the moment he was dazed to push him down onto his stomach. Zac winced as he was soon pulled into a similar hogtie.  
“He was here, wasn’t he?” Zac grunted with the strain.  
Nate ignored the question as he made his way back to Trent and started trying to wake him up. Failing in his efforts he checked his pockets, already knowing that at least the car keys were missing.  
“Where did you go?” Zac heard Nate whispering to himself.


	127. 127

Taylor’s knee bounced nervously as he sat in the back of the Mexican patrol car.  
“Everyone has been very worried about you,” one of the officers noticed his nerves and tried to strike up conversation.  
“Everyone?” Taylor clarified, running his fingers through his hair as his eyes scoured the traffic for any sign of Nate.  
“There are a lot of people in Mexico looking for you,” the officer informed him, “they came close in Tampico.”  
“Sorry, Tampico?” Taylor frowned.  
“Yes. Apparently you were there, and then you weren’t.”  
Taylor watched him thoughtfully, wondering if that was where the woman’s house had been. It was the only time he knew of where he’d actually come close to being rescued.  
“Tampico…” he said to himself, “where are we now?”  
“Reynosa,” came the reply, “next to American border.”  
Taylor nodded.  
“How far from Tampico are we here?” he folded his arms across his chest.  
“About a six hour drive.”  
Taylor’s eyebrows rose, knowing now why Nate must have gone for harder drugs. He didn’t remember any of the trip.  
“Are my brothers here?” he asked, looking out the window again.  
“Yes,” Taylor smiled at the reply, not knowing how the raid had gone, “but they are out looking for you. We will call them in when we get to station.”  
Taylor leant his head back against the seat gratefully.  
It wasn’t long before they pulled into the yard. They took Taylor inside and straight to where they took booking photos, using the camera to take photos of the collar and chain and of his wounded wrists and ankles. When they thought they were done Taylor turned his back and raised his shirt. After a moment of realisation, they took photos of those scars as well.  
Evidence retrieved, they led Taylor to an interrogation room where they offered some time for him to be alone. Taylor denied it, and thanked one of the officers when they offered to stay there with him.  
He ended up laying his head on the table and finally getting some much-needed sleep.

*

Isaac drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he tried to decide what to do. He’d already missed two calls from Carlson and one from Davison while the line stayed connected with Zac – his car kit relaying everything that was going on.  
He’d pulled off at the side of the road where Zac’s relayed directions had led him, but he couldn’t go any further. He had no idea of how far in they were, and if he’d be seen if he continued on. He didn’t want to chance returning to the station in case Nate moved again, and he didn’t want to have to hang up on Zac just to get his GPS tracker working.  
He leant over and opened the glove compartment, quickly rummaging through. It took some time but he eventually came up with Taylor’s phone. It wasn’t the one Nate had disposed of in the river, but a replacement they’d gotten at the same time as Zac’s knowing that he’d want it.  
He carefully went through his phonebook without disconnecting the call with Zac. Finally coming up with Carlson’s phone number, he dialled it into Taylor’s phone and called.


	128. 128

“What?!”  
“You guys need to get back to the station. Now.”  
“We can’t!” Isaac exclaimed, “Nate has Zac!”  
There was silence on the other end as Carlson comprehended what he’d said.  
“How?” he asked finally.  
“After we found Nate’s truck we went down to the next gas station to see if they’d seen anything,” Isaac explained, “Zac went in by himself, and Nate was there.”  
“Did you see where they went?”  
“Um. Yeah,” Isaac admitted, “I’m actually on the phone to Zac right now. I followed them.”  
“You… how? What have you done?”  
“Zac’s got his phone going in his pocket, I can hear everything that’s going on,” Isaac kept watch out the window, “I’ve followed them as far as I think I can go without getting caught. But Nate is really pissed off that Taylor isn’t there. I can’t leave Zac.”  
“Understandable. Can you text me your location?”  
“Will do,” Isaac promised.  
“And stay put. We don’t need to lose you too,” Carlson ordered before hanging up.  
Isaac just rolled his eyes before beginning the text message.

*

Carlson entered the interrogation room as he hung up, jolting Taylor awake.  
“Taylor?”  
“Yeah?” he rubbed his eyes.  
“Glad to finally meet you. Name’s Carlson,” he held out his hand, “I’ve been working closely with your brothers.”  
“Where are they?” Taylor frowned as he shook the man’s hand.  
“I just got off the phone with Isaac. We have a bit of a situation.”  
Taylor flinched, pulling his hand back.  
“What is it?” he was instantly worried.  
“Nate has Zac.”  
Taylor shot to his feet, ignoring the dizzy spell that threatened to make him fall over.  
“How?” he barely breathed, eyes wide.  
“They found Nate’s abandoned truck – the one he took you to the hospital in,” Carlson explained, “they pulled into a gas station down the road and he was there.”  
Taylor looked away and shook his head.  
“Isaac followed them back to wherever he’s taken him. We’ll have patrol cars in the vicinity in minutes.”  
“No,” Taylor’s head still shook, “it won’t do any good. He doesn’t want Zac, he wants me.”  
“If it comes to a hostage situation, we’re well equipped to handle-“  
“No you don’t understand!” Taylor was getting riled up, “this is all to get to me! Nate has gone completely insane! If he doesn’t at least think he’s somehow going to get me back, he will kill Zac!”  
Carlson hesitated, the moment of silence signalling time for his phone to vibrate with Isaac’s message.  
“That’ll be Isaac giving me directions,” he explained when Taylor’s eyes went to it.  
“Then I’m coming with you,” Taylor said decidedly.


	129. 129

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Carlson tried to talk Taylor down.  
“I don’t care what you think,” Taylor hit back, “they were out there because of me. If anything happens to Zac-“  
“You really are related, aren’t you?” Carlson frowned suddenly.  
“What?” Taylor was caught off guard.  
“Fine,” Carlson clenched his teeth, “but you stay out of the way. Stay with Isaac.”  
“I can’t promise anything,” Taylor shook his head.  
“And at least let us get that chain off you,” Carlson gave the officer in the room a pointed look.  
“We have some bolt cutters out the back,” he offered, before leaving the room.  
Taylor grabbed it subconsciously. He couldn’t help but wonder how soon another one would replace it.  
The officer soon returned and cut the chain three links before the collar, not wanting to get too close to Taylor’s neck. It was evident that the collar wasn’t coming off. Once it was cut Taylor pulled the rest of it from his pocket and set the chain on the desk in the room.  
“So let’s go,” he looked to Carlson.  
Carlson gave the officer a pointed glance before leading Taylor from the room. He collected his team and gave them all directions before his along with two SWAT vans and two Mexican patrol cars began to make their way out.

*

It was maybe half an hour until the man in the trailer came to. As Nate called his name when he awoke, Zac finally found out that it was Trent.  
“What happened?” Trent groaned as he rubbed his face when he sat up.  
“What happened? What happened?!” Nate’s voice rose.  
He stood from where he’d been sitting at the other end and walked around to Trent’s side. He grabbed him by the jacket and punched him across the face.  
“You let him escape!”  
“I did?” Trent was obviously still dazed, but not enough to not fight back.  
There was a struggle and eventually Trent managed to throw Nate off of him.  
“What did you do?!” Nate demanded.  
Trent rubbed his forehead as he struggled to remember.  
“I must have fallen asleep,” he realised.  
“Asleep,” Nate scorned.  
It was about then that Trent spotted Zac for the first time.  
“Who the Hell is that?!” he demanded, pointing at him.  
“His brother,” Nate suddenly looked confused, “what, you never met Zac?”  
“His brother?” Trent looked worried.  
He started shaking his head, then grabbed a nearby jacket and headed for the door.  
“This is getting too much for me. I’m out of here,” he announced.  
“He took your car!” Nate scorned, following him out.  
Zac heard them yelling at each other outside, and his eyes immediately fell on the knife again. He didn’t like his chances of getting to it before one or both returned to the trailer, but with nothing else to try he managed to twist himself enough that he fell to his knees on the floor. Thinking better of getting to the other end, he inched toward the drawers instead and opened one with his teeth.


	130. 130

Straining his neck, Zac was able to reach one of the knives still in the drawer. Precariously holding the blade between his teeth he twisted his body as far as he could so that he could drop it into his hands. When he missed the knife hit the cupboard with a clatter, and his head shot up when he heard the argument outside cease.  
Hearing footsteps he quickly closed the drawer with his head and collected the knife into his left fist.  
“And what do you think you’re doing?” Nate asked condescendingly.  
“Going for a moonlit stroll,” Zac offered.  
Nate didn’t even twitch. The lack of reaction possibly more unnerving than the beating he’d been sure he was going to get.  
A noise from outside seemed to snap Nate out of his trance, and he suddenly grabbed Zac by the shirt. He dragged him back to the bed, but couldn’t lift him onto it. Grunting to himself he went back to the kitchen and opened the top drawer. He immediately glared at Zac.  
“Where is it?” he demanded.  
“Where’s what?” Zac frowned.  
“The KNIFE!” Nate yelled, turning to grab the one that had been left on the table and storming over to Zac.  
Zac grimaced as he grabbed him by the hair and held the knife to his throat.  
“Tell me right now or I’ll gut you where you lay,” Nate’s voice sounded almost demonic.  
“It’s in my hand,” Zac admitted straight away.  
Nate let him go and pushed him down onto his stomach, soon retrieving the knife from where Zac held it. He threw one up onto the sink before using the other to cut his ankles free. Zac looked up at this point to see Trent re-enter the trailer.  
“Nate?”  
“What?!” Nate demanded, not bothering to turn around as he pulled Zac to his feet and threw him back onto the bed.  
Zac cursed as his head hit one of the boards on the window and he slumped down onto his wrists.  
“Don’t hate me for saying this, but I think you need some help,” Trent suggested, “maybe we could go back and visit that doctor guy-“  
“I don’t need HELP!” Nate was yelling now as he pushed Zac back onto his stomach and began tying his ankles again, “I need Taylor back.”  
“Holy crap,” Zac breathed, not realising before now the extent to the trouble his brother had been in.  
“Fine, whatever,” Trent brushed off before leaving the trailer again.  
Zac heard his footsteps disappear into the distance, and couldn’t help but worry that there was no one else for Nate to focus on now.  
“I need you to stay here while I go look for your brother,” he said suddenly in a normal voice.  
“Whatever you say,” Zac agreed, hoping it meant Nate would leave him alone.  
He flinched as Nate completed the hogtie again, before fetching more cable ties from the second drawer in the kitchen. Zac looked up to watch as he began forming a sort of rope with them which he threaded through a rivet in the wall at the opposite end of the bed to where the hole was. Zac knew in that moment that Taylor had to have been restrained in a similar way and had gone to the length of ripping the wall out to get away.  
Once the tie rope was fastened around one of Zac’s arms, Nate left the trailer.


	131. 131

Isaac ducked out of the car – keeping the window down and the car kit volume up – as he saw the vehicles approaching in the dark.  
They made their way past and turned back, the first car pulling up behind Isaac’s while the two SWAT vans pulled off onto the gravel track. The patrol cars pulled up roadside, ready to block off any traffic that might come by, but remained with their lights off.  
Isaac watched as Carlson stepped out of the car that had pulled up behind his, soon followed by Taylor.  
“TAY!” he couldn’t help himself, he ran to his brother.  
Taylor pulled him into a hug. The first one in months.  
“It’s so good to see you,” Isaac said.  
“Good to see you too,” Taylor struggled to hold himself together, “are you alright?”  
“Shouldn’t I be asking you?” Isaac mused, finally breaking away.  
Taylor smirked a little as Carlson came to their side.  
“What’s happening?” he gave Isaac a pointed look.  
“Zac’s in trouble,” Isaac responded immediately.  
“What happened?” Taylor immediately looked panicked.  
“I couldn’t make sense of it, but I’m not hearing everything,” Isaac led them back to the car and opened the door.  
They could hear Zac groaning, and what sounded like cloth moving over the phone.  
“Nate is pissed,” Isaac reiterated, “I think Zac tried to escape. There’s been a heap of shouting, and he said something about needing you back.”  
Taylor gave him a worried look before looking to Carlson.  
“He’s in a trailer,” he told him, “I got out a different way to what he took me in, so I don’t know exactly where it is. But I could try.”  
“You need to stay here,” Carlson said sternly, “with Isaac. We’ll handle this.”  
“And when he realises he’s cornered and he kills Zac?” Taylor scorned, “no, I’m coming with.”  
“That makes two of us,” Isaac insisted, reaching into the car to grab his phone from the car kit. He shut the car off and locked it up.  
“Oh geez,” Carlson rolled his eyes and headed back to his car.  
Taylor and Isaac shared a glance before following. When they were in the back of the car Isaac grabbed Taylor’s shoulder.  
“Nate’s talking,” he said, quickly putting the phone on speaker.  
“…Stay here while I go look for your brother.”  
“Whatever you say.”  
“He’s coming after me,” Taylor realised.  
“Which means he’s leaving the trailer,” Isaac looked up toward Carlson.  
Carlson immediately picked up his radio.  
“Devereux is on the move, we need to go NOW!” he ordered.  
The SWAT vans immediately pulled into the gravel track, Carlson starting his car and following them while the patrol cars stayed by the road.  
Taylor was able to give very vague directions, but nothing solid. By staying in contact with the patrol units on the road they were able to get directions from an officer who knew the area and had an idea of where the trailer might have been.


	132. 132

The hairs stood on the back of Taylor’s neck and he knew they were getting close.  
“I need a gun,” he said suddenly, leaning forward.  
“Excuse me?” Carlson’s eyebrows rose.  
“I need a gun!” Taylor reiterated, “give me a gun!”  
“Tay-“ Isaac grabbed his arm in an attempt to calm him down.  
Taylor shook him off, his eyes diverting to the window.  
“Do you know how to use one?” Carlson checked.  
“Of course I do,” Taylor scorned.  
“Then I don’t see why not. You’re not getting involved, remember?”  
Taylor didn’t reply. Moments later the trailer came into view and the SWAT team was out of their vans and surrounding it before Carlson even pulled up. Taylor tried to open the back door, panicking for a moment when he realised it was locked. Carlson was soon out of the car and opened it for him.  
“Here, take my spare,” he handed him a pistol.  
Taylor was taken aback at the sight of it, flashbacks from the last time he held one overpowering him for a moment. When Isaac got out behind him he managed to snap out of it and he slid the gun into the back of his jeans.  
They watched as the SWAT barked orders, presuming that Nate was still in the trailer. When there was no response they waited to check with Isaac – he couldn’t hear anything over the phone – before bursting in. Taylor jumped as the door was broken in and watched like a hawk as the scene played out. When the SWAT called that the coast was clear, he felt the panic rising in his chest again.  
It took a few minutes for the SWAT members to emerge with Zac in tow. He still had a cable tie wrapped around one of his wrists. Once Isaac saw him, he darted forward.  
“ISAAC!” Carlson called after him before turning back to Taylor.  
“You wait here!” he ordered as he took off after Isaac.  
Taylor held himself back from following after, but it was hard. He folded his arms across his chest as he wondered how far Nate could have gone.  
When Isaac reached Zac in time for Zac to look up, a wave of relief washed over his face.  
“Ike,” he grinned, grabbing him into a hug, “I knew you’d find me.”  
“You made it pretty easy,” Isaac reassured, “but where’s Nate?”  
“I don’t know, he said he was going to go look for Taylor,” Zac shook his head.  
He frowned when he saw the car.  
“He didn’t take the car,” he said suddenly, making Isaac turn.  
“Why wouldn’t he?” Isaac looked confused.  
“He only walked out a minute before you guys showed up, he must have ducked off into the trees,” Zac realised.  
“Where’s Tay?” Isaac turned.  
“I told him to stay by the car,” Carlson reassured as he indicated for Zac to follow him to a van.  
“Where?” Zac frowned, making Isaac turn to look.  
The back car door was still wide open, but Taylor was nowhere to be seen.  
Isaac immediately darted back for the car.  
“TAYLOR?!” he called out when he reached it, seeing he definitely wasn’t in the back seat.  
Carlson appeared by his side, flashlight in hand. As he switched it on and sent it to the ground, they spotted two sets of unclear footprints leading back behind the car.


	133. 133

Taylor’s fingers struggled to pry Nate’s hand away from his mouth but the grip he had was almost inhuman.  
He was being dragged backwards into the trees, so far that the lights from the cars were almost out of eyeshot. By the time they made it onto one of the labyrinth gravel tracks again, the cars were well out of sight. Nate threw him to the ground and stood over him as Taylor scrambled to get to his hands and knees.  
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry,” Taylor cowered, expecting to be hit, “I never should have run from you, I know that now!”  
“Kneel,” Nate ordered in an unusually gruff voice.  
Taylor got up to his knees and spread his hands in surrender, unable to make out Nate’s face in the dark. All he could see was the outline of his shoulders via what little moonlight was out.  
“I am so sorry,” he continued, “I didn’t know what I was doing. That’s why I came back.”  
“You came back because I had Zac,” Nate sneered.  
“No, that’s a lie,” Taylor insisted in a calm tone though his adrenaline was sky high, “I came back for you.”  
When Nate didn’t reply, he licked his lips nervously.  
“I waited by the car because I wanted you to come for me,” he went on.  
“Then why did you fight me?” Nate demanded.  
“I was scared,” Taylor frowned, “I didn’t know it was you.”  
Nate’s head turned back as they saw a flashlight flickering through the trees.  
“They’re going to come for me,” Taylor tried to reason, “we need to get out of here. And fast.”  
“Alright,” Nate decided he would deal with his insolence later, “let me bind your hands and we’ll be on our way.”  
Taylor gulped a little, knowing he wouldn’t be able to reach the gun.  
“But what if I fall?” he asked suddenly.  
“What?”  
“If we’re running and I trip over something, I can’t shield myself. If I hurt myself I can’t serve you properly,” Taylor said quickly, “what if you wait until we at least get back to a main road? Then when we get a car you can hogtie me for all I care.”  
Nate seemed to consider the proposal as Taylor’s eyes darted in the direction he began hearing distant footsteps.  
“Okay, but just this once,” Nate relented, “get up.”  
Taylor breathed a sigh of relief as he got to his feet. Nate grabbed him by the wrist and began to lead him into the trees again.

*

“TAYLOR!” Zac yelled as they stepped through the brush.  
Carlson was out in the lead with his flashlight, following any sign he could that someone had been there. Broken twigs, the occasional footprint and more often than not drag marks. Isaac followed close behind using the light from his phone as a guide as SWAT members fanned out either side.  
They soon made it onto the gravel as Carlson paused where Taylor had kneeled.  
“They stopped here,” he announced, shining the light either way down the road.  
“They can’t have gone far,” one of the SWAT guys called back, “what direction?!”  
“That way,” Carlson followed the resulting footprints into the trees up ahead.


	134. 134

Hearing the shouts behind them, Taylor continued on through the trees. Nate was so close behind him that he was definitely in his personal space.  
They soon hit another clearing which turned out to be yet another gravel track. This one had tyre tracks which meant it was one of the ones they’d used.  
“Which way?” Taylor asked as he checked either direction.  
“FREEZE!” came a sudden order from the trees on the other side as a flashlight shone in Taylor’s eyes.  
Blinded for a moment he was unable to fend Nate off when he instantly slid something around his neck. Realising it was one of his cable ties, Taylor’s eyes widened and his hands shot to his throat.  
“Nate NO!” he cried, trying desperately to get his fingers under it as it was pulled tight.  
“Back off,” Nate warned the SWAT member, “I’ll kill him, I swear.”  
Taylor could now see that the light was sitting atop a rifle.  
“Let him go!” came another order.  
“I’LL KILL HIM!” Nate screamed, making Taylor cringe.  
“Please, back off,” Taylor begged in a quiet voice, knowing that if the tie got any tighter he wouldn’t be able to breathe and there’d be no way of getting it off.  
“Listen to him,” Nate added.  
Taylor locked eyes with him, and saw the officer nod. He lowered the rifle.  
Just as Taylor hoped he’d step aside enough so that they were in the clear, they heard footsteps behind them and Nate spun him around.  
“TAYLOR!” came Zac’s voice as the group halted at the edge of the road when they saw the scene.  
Taylor squinted as multiple flashlights now hit his face.  
“BACK OFF!” Nate was once again agitated, “I’LL KILL HIM!”  
“He’s bluffing,” Zac’s eyes didn’t leave the pair.  
“He’s not,” Taylor barely got out, nostrils flaring as he struggled to get air in already.  
“Tay? Stay calm,” he heard Isaac’s voice to the left and turned his eyes in that direction.  
“Nate you’re surrounded,” Carlson informed him, “there’s nowhere to go. Just let Taylor go.”  
“And if I don’t?” Nate sneered, the voice in Taylor’s ear not giving him any confidence that he was going to get out of this alive.  
“Then you’re dead,” Zac informed him, dark eyes staring down at Nate.  
With Nate to his left, Taylor carefully slid his right hand down to his side. Noticing that Nate saw the movement, he put his hand out instead.  
“Please, he’ll do it,” his voice shook as his eyes locked on Carlson.  
“I’m dead either way,” Nate responded to Zac’s earlier statement as he moved to pull on the tie.  
Taylor’s hand darted behind him and managed to retrieve the gun before Nate pulled the tie taut. Knowing that it was already too late, he ducked out of Nate’s grip and dug the barrel into Nate’s hip before firing.  
He barely heard the gunshot before he collapsed onto the road in his struggle to breathe. Before he knew it Zac was on top of him.  
“Hold on Tay, hold on!” he insisted as he snapped open the stolen pocketknife.  
He struggled to get his fingers under the tie, but when he finally did he managed to quickly snap it. Taylor immediately gasped for breath, his face already red as he clutched desperately at his neck.  
“You’re okay,” Zac assured him, patting his chest as he looked away, “you’re okay Tay.”


	135. 135

It took Taylor some time to register the screaming. He squeezed his eyes shut.  
“Get him out of here!” he heard Carlson ordering.  
“Tay? We gotta move,” Zac put a hand on his shoulder making him open his eyes again.  
“Can you get up?” he registered Isaac on the opposite side for the first time.  
He nodded as his brothers took his arms and pulled him up. While he was standing he took in the scene properly for the first time.  
A trail of blood led from his shirt and where he’d been laying a few feet back to where Nate was now laying on the ground. Despite his very vivid injury and obvious lack of use of the leg Taylor had attacked, they still needed three officers to pin him down.  
“TAYLOR!” he was screaming as he fought.  
“Tay?” Isaac’s voice snapped him out of another trance.  
“Let’s get out of here,” Taylor’s voice was shaky.  
Two SWAT members led the brothers back through the trees toward the vans, Nate’s voice echoing eerily into the darkness. They got about halfway back when Taylor felt Zac tense up.  
“What?” he asked instantly.  
“Trent,” Zac realised, “he left on foot just before Nate did. He’s gotta still be around here somewhere.”  
“Trent’s here?” Isaac looked worried.  
Zac was already trying to explain to the SWAT member by his side.  
“He was supposed to be watching me when I escaped,” Taylor explained, “I stabbed him with a tranquiliser but it definitely would have worn off by now.”  
“Go Tay,” Isaac mused, “two in one night.”  
Taylor didn’t want to dwell on how easy he’d found it to be, or how being covered in Nate’s blood didn’t make him at all squeamish.  
As they made it back to the clearing Taylor and Zac both froze.  
“What is it?” Isaac asked.  
“The car’s gone,” Zac looked to the officers again, “there was a car here. Nate drove it back from the gas station. It belonged to the attendant there.”  
“I remember,” one of them nodded, “don’t worry, he won’t get far.”  
The brothers made it to the back of the one of the vans and all sat side by side in the back. Taylor went to cross his arms over his stomach defensively, but stopped when he felt the wet patch.  
“So this could be it,” Zac said out loud, “Bernard’s dead, Nate’s out of commission… if they catch up with Trent, it’s finally over.”  
“Only took eight years,” Isaac pulled a face.  
“Define ‘over’,” Taylor’s eyes stayed to the ground.  
“’Over’ meaning we don’t have to worry about them anymore,” Zac refined.  
Taylor remained silent, and Isaac’s brow furrowed.  
“What is it?” he asked, trying to catch his eye line.  
“Them,” Taylor shrugged, “the keyword. There’s a lot more people involved now.”  
“True… which reminds me,” Zac began fishing in his pocket.  
Taylor watched curiously before Zac suddenly produced Taylor’s wedding ring. He paused as he stared at it for a moment before cautiously taking it.  
“Thank you,” he said softly, holding it in his hand and not moving to put it on at all.


	136. 136

There was a collective sigh of relief as the boys hit the familiar interrogation room down at the station. It wasn’t just from them.  
“I take it you’ll be wanting to head back for Tulsa as soon as possible?” Carlson confirmed as Isaac and Taylor both took a seat.  
“Definitely,” Isaac nodded.  
“I’ll see if I can arrange for Davison to have your interviews conducted there instead of here. After some basic evidence-taking you should be good to go.”  
“Thank you,” Zac nodded as he closed the door behind him.  
He ran his fingers through his hair as he joined his brothers at the table. He quickly noticed Taylor fiddling with his wedding ring, even as it was hidden inside his fist.  
“You’re not gonna put that on?” he raised an eyebrow as Isaac looked across curiously.  
Taylor glanced up but diverted his eyes.  
“I need to get the other one off first,” he said decidedly.  
“How did they even get it on?” Isaac looked perplexed.  
“They welded it,” Taylor lifted his hair so that Isaac could see.  
Zac got up and ducked around the table to have a look for himself. He winced when he saw the burn scars on the back of Taylor’s neck.  
“They really never expected that to come off,” Zac couldn’t help himself.  
“You think?” Isaac scorned just as the door opened again.  
“Taylor?” they looked up to see Carlson in the doorway, “they’re ready for you.”  
Isaac gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze as he got up and followed Carlson out.  
Once again they took photos for evidence, this time focused on the marks on Taylor’s neck from the cable tie, the new bruises on his face and on the bloodstains on his clothes. He eventually had to take the shirt off so they could enter it into evidence – opting to leave his jeans until he had replacements - and that was when Carlson noticed the scars for the first time. He ordered more photos to be taken of Taylor’s older injuries that were still visible.  
Once they were through with Taylor, Zac was next. They got through with him a lot faster.  
As he returned to the room, Carlson came in with him.  
“I got a hold of Davison’s unit,” he informed them, “they’ve agreed to do your interviews in Tulsa, but the National Task Force running the trafficking case want to sit in if that’s alright.”  
“I don’t see why not,” Isaac gave his brothers a look.  
“Sure,” Taylor shrugged, “it’s all going to come out one way or another.”  
“Great, I’ll let them know to meet you there,” Carlson offered a small smile, “you can be on your way as soon as you’re ready. Although we will need Taylor’s jeans, and Zac’s clothes too.”  
“If there’s a store nearby I can go get you something,” Isaac offered.  
“I’ll come with,” Zac assured.  
“Probably not the best idea,” Carlson hinted, “you’ll risk contamination in public.”  
Zac hesitated pursing his lips, but nodded in agreement.  
“Cool?” Isaac looked to Taylor.  
“Sure,” he nodded.  
Isaac got up to leave the room, Carlson stepping aside so he could walk out.  
“By the way they found Trent,” Carlson informed them, making him stop, “he was picked up trying to hitchhike on the highway. He was trying to leave town.”


	137. 137

“Before he knew what was happening?” Isaac frowned.  
“Yes,” a look of realisation crossed Zac’s face, “he got into an argument with Nate. He thought Nate had gone too far and he wanted out.”  
“What do you mean?” Taylor frowned.  
“Trent was going off about how he thought Nate needed help, like he’d gone mental,” Zac remembered, “Nate said that he didn’t need help, he just needed you back.”  
“I said something similar,” Taylor admitted as he looked up at Carlson, “before he took me to the hospital. I tried to convince him he needed help.”  
“That obviously went down well,” Isaac scratched his head.  
“I thought it was,” Taylor looked to Zac, “I thought I almost got to him. But then when I escaped he must have lost it again.”  
“He was definitely not right in the head,” Zac agreed.  
“We’re beginning to realise that,” Carlson admitted, “once he’s transferred back to Oklahoma we’ll be getting a psych evaluation done.”  
The three brothers were immediately on guard.  
“They’re taking him back?” Isaac broke the silence.  
“Why?” Taylor frowned, “why not just ship him off to a high grade facility in Washington or something?”  
“The charges need to be confirmed,” Carlson tried to explain, making Zac rolls his eyes, “and at the moment he’s in no condition to be moved regardless. I don’t doubt that once his condition improves they will have had enough time to decide that he needs to go straight to Oklahoma State or even ADMAX. He’ll be going away for a long time.”  
Taylor put his head in his hand as Isaac shook his.  
“Where are they holding him now?” Isaac demanded.  
“He’s in a secure part of the hospital. Don’t worry, he’s not going anywhere.”  
“Pretty sure they would have thought that when he was on death row,” Zac’s voice dripped with sarcasm.  
“Technically he still is on death row,” Carlson amended, “until these charges are finalised.”  
“Is he going to end up a political prisoner?” Taylor’s eyes looked up.  
“That depends on the Feds and how tight their operation is,” Carlson reasoned, “but he’s going to have to answer for the slavery charges just like everyone else picked up at the base.”  
“What about the house in Tampico?” Isaac asked, “what about the people there?”  
“We need to tread carefully with this one, because while our involvement stems purely through Taylor being an American held against his will on International soil, their laws here are still different to ours,” Carlson explained.  
“Did you pick up some guys named Carlos and Juan?” Taylor looked up suddenly.  
“I couldn’t be sure, there were a lot of people there,” Carlson shook his head, “why?”  
“Who are they?” Isaac asked.  
“They were… um,” Taylor stopped to think, “the main instigators, I guess. These…”  
He patted his back.  
“They’re from Carlos.”  
“I can check for you,” Carlson offered.  
When Taylor nodded gratefully, Isaac and Carlson finally left the room.


	138. 138

The drive back to Tulsa had limited awkward silences. Taylor spent most of it sleeping huddled up on the back seat.  
Before he’d fallen asleep Isaac and Zac had given him the latest update on Taylor and Zac’s families being in Georgia, but Taylor had declined the offer to call Natalie. They were confused, but didn’t want to push him into it all the same.  
When they finally made it back to Tulsa they headed straight for the station where they were greeted at the door by Davison. He ushered them inside after shaking Taylor’s hand.  
“Did you guys get any sleep?” he asked as he led them into his office.  
“I think I caught up on a month’s worth,” Taylor mused.  
“And we switched drivers,” Zac shrugged, “so we’re good to go.”  
“Great. So who wants to go first?”  
“Aren’t the Feds supposed to be here?” Isaac checked.  
“They are, they’re waiting in interrogation,” Davison nodded.  
Taylor immediately tensed up. Isaac and Zac noticed.  
“I guess I’ll go first,” Isaac offered, more out of an older sibling obligation.  
“Right this way,” Davison led him from the room.  
Once Isaac had been delivered to his interview, Davison returned to the office.  
“Taylor… Carlson sent me some of the photos from Reynosa,” he began as he closed the door and walked around to his office chair.  
Taylor just gave him a curious look.  
“I’ve organised for some heavy duty wire cutters to come and remove the metal from your neck. If you don’t mind, that is.”  
Taylor’s hand shot to his throat. He could scarcely remember being without the collar anymore. It had begun to feel like it had always been a part of him.  
“Of course,” his eyes lowered when he realised he’d taken a while to reply.  
“You weren’t planning on keeping it, were you?” Zac frowned without any hint of humour.  
“No,” Taylor replied instantly, “I just… never mind.”  
He sank into a chair opposite Davison as Zac remained leaning back against a filing cabinet.  
“They should be here within the hour. If Zac takes the next interview you should be free of it by your turn.”  
“No problem,” Zac nodded.  
“Now boys… I need to talk to you about Nate for a moment,” Davison immediately had their attention, “detaining him is only the beginning, as you know. There could be a very lengthy trial process. Now with modern technology your testimonies can be easily pre-recorded and played for any jury that might assemble, but there is always the possibility that you may have to front a trial.”  
“I’ll do whatever it takes,” Zac assured.  
“It’s not you I was worried about,” Davison’s eyes were on Taylor.  
Taylor looked up and caught his eye, starting to absently scratch his arm.  
“Would he be there?” he asked.  
“I couldn’t say either way to be honest,” Davison shrugged, “but in such an extreme case… and with a psychological examination pending, I’d say they’d do all they could to make sure he wouldn’t be.”  
Taylor nodded as Zac folded his arms defensively.  
“I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Taylor offered a fake smile.


	139. 139

It wasn’t long after Isaac and Zac traded places that an officer arrived with the wire cutters. Under strict supervision and with Isaac’s help, the collar was cut in two places and finally removed. Taylor ran his hands up and down his neck a few times as if to check that it was really gone.  
“Are you okay?” Isaac put a hand on his shoulder.  
“Yeah,” Taylor nodded before turning to the officer, “thank you.”  
He nodded and took his leave.  
“How did it go?” Taylor asked once they were alone with Davison again.  
“Pretty much like last time,” Isaac shrugged, “just a longer time period to cover.”  
Taylor’s eyebrows rose.  
“That could be interesting,” he mused, pulling a foot up onto the chair and hugging his leg.  
“They won’t mind if you don’t remember everything,” Davison reminded him.  
“I know,” Taylor nodded, “it’s reliving it that I’m worried about.”  
“Can one or both of us go in with him?” Isaac had to check.  
“Sorry,” Davison shook his head.  
“It’s okay,” Taylor reassured his brother, “I just need to get it over and done with.”  
“Then you can go home,” Davison offered him a smile.  
“Hear that Tay?” Isaac couldn’t help but smile.  
“About that…” Taylor began, making Isaac’s smile fade, “I haven’t had the chance to tell anyone, but either Nate or Trent or both have been in my house.”  
“What?” Isaac demanded.  
“How do you know this?” Davison leant forward.  
“Because Nate told me. And he gave me this,” Taylor pulled the necklace from where he still had it hidden in his pocket, “it belongs to my wife. It was kept in our closet.”  
He sat it on the desk, Davison’s eyes not moving from the trinket. He could already sense Isaac getting worked up behind him.  
“He threatened me while I was in Tampico, saying he’d go after her,” Taylor explained, opting to leave out Penny’s part, “but then he called Ike to gloat and I managed to warn him.”  
“That’s why we sent her and Kate to Georgia,” Isaac amended.  
“I see,” Davison nodded, “Isaac could he stay with you or Zac for the time being? We’ll need to send forensics to the home and give it a once-over.”  
“He let it slip that something happened to the wiring,” Taylor’s eyes narrowed as he recalled, “he did something to it so that Trent could pose as an electrician and gain access while my family was there. And then someone must have gone back at some point because he brought me a change of clothes.”  
“Son of a-“ Isaac cut himself off.  
“We’ll look into it,” Davison promised, “you have a security system, yes?”  
Taylor nodded.  
“Then it shouldn’t be too hard. Not that we need another charge to add to Nate’s rap sheet but tracing his whereabouts will certainly keep the Feds happy.”  
They looked up as an officer appeared at the door, Zac in tow.  
“You’re turn bro,” Zac gave his shoulder a pat as he passed.  
“We’ll be right here,” Isaac reminded him as Taylor stood.  
“I know. I’ll be okay,” Taylor nodded, “see you soon.”  
They watched as he was led from the room, taken to an interview that would take most of the day.


	140. 140 - Epilogue

“Come on Tay,” Isaac ducked his head into the dressing room, “you don’t want to be late for the very first gig.”  
“I’ll be right there,” Taylor smirked, quickly finishing up his conversation with their tour manager.  
He was about to walk away when another crew member ran up to him.  
“Tay? There’s someone at the back door for you. Says it’s important.”  
“I’m going to be late for the meet and greet,” he shook his head, “sorry.”  
“She said you’d be expecting her?”  
Taylor paused, a confused frown on his face.  
“I’m not expecting anyone. Have her check in with security and I’ll see what I can do after.”  
The crew member took off and he headed out to his first meet and greet of the new tour. It had taken him a bit to get used to the crowds again, but after a few small practise runs he soon felt more at home than ever. After the meeting, the same crew member was waiting for him.  
“She’s being rather insistent,” she looked a little worried.  
“Don’t worry, I’ll deal with it,” Taylor gave her a pat on the shoulder before taking her lead and following her to a back room.  
He stepped inside to see the back of a woman’s head as she sat in the middle of the room, one of the venue’s security guards standing beside her. When she turned to face him, he froze.  
“Leave us,” he ordered the security guard.  
The man nodded and left the room. Taylor closed the door behind him.  
“What are you doing here?” he asked as she stood.  
“I came to see you,” she replied simply, “I came to see how you were doing.”  
Taylor gave her an incredulous look.  
“Why?” he shook his head, perplexed.  
“Come and sit down,” she instructed, indicating two chairs close together.  
Taylor looked back at the door, but complied. She took a moment to gather herself.  
“I don’t blame you for what happened,” she began solidly, “I know you were only doing what you thought was right. And you were after any opportunity to get home to your family.”  
“I didn’t have anything to do with the raid,” Taylor frowned, cutting off as she held up her hand.  
“My family has owned slaves for centuries,” she ignored his statement, “Ibby for example has been with us since I was a little girl. If I were Gabriela, he would have been my Taylor, if you will.”  
She smiled a little, but despite wanting to know if Ibby was okay Taylor didn’t bother opening his mouth again.  
“What I mean to say is that I know no different. While I’m not looking for you to excuse me for being a part of your… experience, I hope that you would understand that for some it is simply a way of life.”  
Taylor’s eyes lowered as he tried to work out if she was apologising, and what exactly for.  
“The people we introduce to our way of life are generally people who are looking for a new lease on life. We strive to give them a purpose again. They aren’t supposed to have lives worth saving.”  
“But can’t you see that life itself is worth saving?” Taylor couldn’t hold himself back any longer, “what gives you people the right to decide who has a life worth living? How do you even measure worth?”  
The woman was giving him a stern look and he had to forcefully stop himself thinking that Carlos would suddenly storm into the room. She must have noticed the look in his eyes, because the look on her own face softened.  
“I’m sorry for the way I had you treated,” she said softly.  
Taylor was slightly taken aback and wasn’t sure of how to respond to that. He diverted his eyes.  
“And I’m sorry for having you beaten. I ordered Carlos and Juan to attack you.”  
“I know,” Taylor looked up suddenly.  
“You knew?” she frowned, confused.  
“I figured it out when the rebels came,” Taylor nodded, “you tried to instil in me that they hated me because of my skin colour and that they’d kill me for nothing more. But Juan had the perfect opportunity to take me out and he didn’t.”  
He shook his head.  
“I didn’t know why you would do that, at the time, but I did work it out.”  
“It was a part of the induction,” she revealed, “in order to enhance what they call the Stockholm Syndrome, you need to create a hazardous environment in which your slave will see you as their saviour. I needed you to see me as someone you could turn to at a time like that.”  
Taylor’s face flushed red, knowing it would have easily worked. The control she’d had over him only now beginning to become apparent.  
He jumped as there was a knock on the door and the crew member poked her head in.  
“Half an hour Tay,” he informed him.  
“Go,” the woman nodded, “I don’t want to keep you from your duties.”  
Taylor blanched at her choice of words, before standing and making to leave the room. At the door he stopped, turning back.  
“Will you stay?” he asked, his voice slightly timid.  
“Would you like me to stay?” she asked, not bothering to stand herself.  
Taylor hesitated, but nodded.  
“Then I’ll stay,” she smiled, “but only until the end.”  
“Thanks,” Taylor replied.  
He stopped to stare at her for a moment longer, before disappearing down the hall.  
He didn’t bother to inform his brothers of the special guest at their first concert back.


End file.
